Heroes Of Their Time
by dudelove85
Summary: Following his recent divorce, Jason Scott just wanted to live the quiet life. Unfortunately his adopted daughter and her science project has other ideas. When the Legion of Deboss attacks, five unlikely heroes must become the Power Ranger Dino Charge. The original red ranger needs to whip this dysfunctional team into shape before it's too late. Adaptation of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger
1. New Beginnings

_Heroes of Their Time – New Beginnings_

_Hunston Valley, California_

Sitting just off the Pacific coast in northern California is the city of Hunston Valley. A relatively small city, almost everything was situated on the central boulevard that ran through the city. During the last decade Hunston Valley had become a hub for computing and telecommunication, leading to boom in the size of the town. On the outskirts of the city were the suburbs where the majority of the population lived. In the hills that overlooked the city sat a number of ranches, a few of which were owned by the extremely wealthy.

In the city center sat a traditional 1950s diner with a gas station attached. Parked up in the gas station was a vintage red pick-up truck, fully loaded with cardboard boxes. Inside the truck were two people, a man in his late thirties and a teenage girl. The man was powerfully built with short dark hair and a five o'clock shadow. He wore a red t-shirt, blue jeans and a battered black leather jacket. The girl was on the short side, no more than five foot four. She had long light brown hair and wore black jeans and a purple vest top. She was idly playing with her tablet as the man thanked the station attendant before driving away, "So how much further Kiera", the man asked the girl.

Kiera brought up her sat nav app on her tablet, "Not much further Uncle Jason", she replied, "another ten minutes". Jason Lee Scott nodded and settled down for the last leg of the journey. After giving up the gold ranger powers, Jason had embarked on a career as an EMT in the city of Angel Grove. He had lived through Astronema's invasion and seen more death on that day than he had witnessed in the following seventeen years. He had settled down with his long term girlfriend Emily in 2004, however, after co-leading the legendary rangers in Harwood County last year, their relationship had soured. The divorce had only been finalised a few days ago and the move to Hunston Valley was a new start for him.

His marriage to Emily hadn't produced any children but even though Kiera called him Uncle Jason, technically she was his adopted daughter. Not long after the red ranger mission to the Moon her parents asked him to adopt her. She was an extremely bright child, unfortunately she wasn't a social person, to the point that she would actually hide from large groups of people. Her education was a constant source of argument for Jason and Emily, his ex-wife wanted her to go to school but Jason had rejected that idea. The public school system wasn't suitable for someone with her IQ so they opted to home school Kiera. In hindsight, that hadn't helped with her confidence amongst kids her own age. Jason hoped the fresh start would help the seventeen year old finally come out of her shell.

"Alright this looks the place", Jason said as he turned his truck onto a residential street. Their new three storey house was constructed from red bricks with white windows and door frames. A curved section stuck out of the middle of the property and extended into the front garden.

"This place looks expensive", Kiera commented, "how could you afford this?"

"It was surprisingly cheap", Jason replied, "maybe someone was murdered here", he joked.

"Seriously don't joke about that", Kiera shuddered. The pair began unloading the contents of the pickup and placed the various boxes onto the grass. Jason came across a large metal flight case with a strange logo printed on top. It was grey with yellow patch in the middle, the top right hand corner of the logo had a red triangle. After looking at it for a few seconds, Jason realised it looked like the head of a dinosaur.

"Kiera what did I say about messing around with these things", he said as he placed the case on the floor with a thud.

"Be careful with those", Kiera exclaimed, "you told me to be careful with them and I have been". Jason sighed, the girl had an unhealthy interest in science and engineering. He just hoped that it didn't get her into trouble one day. As Kiera pushed her flight case up the driveway, Jason found the keys under the doormat. Unlocking the door the pair was greeted with a musty smell together with loads of dust. Clearly the property hadn't been lived in for a while.

The entranceway was dominated by a central staircase that led to the upper levels. Directly in front of them was the kitchen, to their left was the main living room and to their right was another large receiving room. "I'm going to pick out my bedroom", Kiera stated before heading upstairs. Jason placed the boxes on the floor before moving into the kitchen. It needed a little bit of modernisation but everything still appeared to be functional. He then looked out the window and into the garden. It was overgrown and full of weeds but it was nothing a day's hard work wouldn't fix. He was impressed by the overall size and also the view of a forest that was at the end of the garden.

"This is a big property for just the two of us", Kiera said as she entered the kitchen. She had managed to find an apple in one of the boxes and took a large bite out of the fruit.

"Well I have a plan", Jason replied, "I was thinking about converting this into a several properties. We can live in one and charge people rent to live in the others".

"Sounds lame", Kiera stated before taking another bite out of her apple.

"And I suppose you would turn this place into a giant lab", Jason asked and the teen nodded, "you're not fitting a lab in this house".

"Why not I've got the space now", Kiera whined.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Kiera you're nearly an adult, you need to find a job sooner or later. Get out into the big wide world and meet some actual people. Talking to someone on a forum in China doesn't count".

"Yeah yeah", Kiera replied, it was an argument she had heard from her adopted father many times. "I'll start tomorrow, right now I'm hungry. How about we visit that 50's diner we passed a few minutes ago". She tossed the apple core at Jason who caught it in his hand, "I'm driving", she called out as she left the kitchen. Jason sighed, clearly more of his ex-wife had rubbed off on Kiera that he wished.

_Finchey's Diner_

The diner Kiera referred to was called Finchey's Diner, named after its owner and manager, Artie Finch. He was a man in his mid fifties with thinning black hair and a protruding stomach. To keep with the theme of the diner, he was dressed as a stereotypical 'greaser', white t-shirt, leather jacket and tight blue jeans.

In the kitchen he was interviewing a potential candidate for the vacant position of head chef. He looked over the young man in front of him with suspicion, the interviewee couldn't be any older than 21 but he claimed to have visited and worked in several prominent restaurants around the world. The Hispanic man didn't look much like a chef either, he was skinny with shoulder length black hair. He was dressed casually in a red hooded top and a pair of beige three quarter length shorts, "Alright then Mr Navarro", Artie began.

"Tyler, please", the man replied.

Artie sighed, "Alright Tyler, I'll be honest with you, I'm not convinced by your resume. Either you're a massive liar or vastly overqualified to work as a burger flipper".

Tyler grumbled at the bluntness of the man before he grabbed a large knife, "Perhaps a demonstration is in order". He grabbed a lettuce off the counter before tossing it into air. Using the knife he sliced the vegetable several times in midair. Finely chopped pieces of lettuce landed on some open burger buns that were nearby.

When Artie had regained use of his jaw, he began to speak again, "That was amazing kid". He sighed audibly, "Fine the job's yours, no one else has applied in the last two weeks anyway".

"Thank you Mr Finch", Tyler replied and shook the man vigorously by the hand, "you won't regret this".

"Yeah sure", Artie grumbled, "I'll introduce you to our main waitress. Hey Shelby", he called out. An African American teen turned her head before approaching the kitchen, her black hair bouncing with every step. Her uniform consisted of a pink 1950's style dress, complete with white belt and apron, "This is Tyler, our new head chef", Artie added.

"Pleased to meet you", Shelby replied with a smile at the new chef.

"I'm going to show him around the kitchen", Artie began before looking out into the diner, "looks like we've got some regulars back and a couple of new arrivals".

Shelby turned her head, sighing as she caught sight of one of the regulars. He was a Caucasian male with dark hair held very firmly in place with a significant amount of hair gel. He had his feet up on the seat opposite from him, showing off his black boots and black skinny jeans. To top off his look, he wore a grey t-shirt with a black leather jacket over the top. He smiled when he caught sight of the waitress, Shelby merely rolled her eyes and strolled over, "Hello Chase, what can I get you today?"

"A date with the prettiest waitress in this cafe", Chase replied smoothly and produced a solitary red rose. In response Shelby sighed and swatted Chase's legs off the seat.

"I'll go on a date with you when hell freeze over", she replied with a sweet smile, "that's the answer I've given for the last six months and it's the same one I'll give for the rest of eternity"

Chase though wasn't giving up, he merely smiled and responded, "You should know that once I set my sights on something, I always hit my target".

"Well perhaps you should use your talents on your actual date", Shelby said and pointed her pen at a girl approaching Chase's booth. Deciding that Chase would have his usual 'first date' order, Shelby made her way to the next booth where a blonde haired teenager was sitting by himself. He was dressed in a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a green long sleeved training top. This was one of her trickier regular customers as he was very hard to read, "Afternoon Riley", she greeted cheerily, "the usual banana shake?"

"Yeah please", Riley responded vaguely as he fumbled with his kit bag, inside were a number of fencing foils.

"How'd you get on?" Shelby asked, "did your win".

"Yeah by a huge margin", the teen responded in a monotone voice. Shelby sighed, one day she would get a smile out of that boy. The door opened and in walked someone that never seemed to be miserable. The man was in his mid twenties and was carrying a tool box. He was dressed in black jeans, a white t-shirt and a blue denim jacket with a company logo on the breast pocket.

"Koda Yamamoto", Shelby greeted, "I wish all repairmen responded to a call out as quickly as you do".

"Well no one comes as quickly as I do", he replied proudly before realising what he had said.

Chase snorted loudly behind them, "That's not something to be proud of buddy", he called out.

Shelby shook her head, "Don't listen to him", she replied, "the lights have gone out in the toilets, reckon you could take a look?"

"I'll get on it straight away", Koda said with a broad smile before making his way to the back.

Finally Shelby reached the newcomers, a man with a teenage girl. When the waitress approached the table, she gasped when she realised who the man was, "Sensei Scott", she began with reverence, "I'm not sure if you remember me, I was only twelve at the time..."

"I remember all my students", Jason smiled, "fancy meeting you here Shelby Watkins". As a sideline to his day job, Jason used to teach a few classes at a dojo belonging to his old team mate, Adam Park. Jason usually taught a few of the most promising students some advanced techniques and Shelby had been one of the finest he had seen, "I hope you're still working on everything I showed you".

"Oh almost every day", she replied.

"It's a shame I never got to meet your parents", Jason began, "I would've loved to have told them how well their daughter was doing".

Shelby's smile dropped at the mention of her parents and she became a little more guarded, "Yeah they never found the time sadly. So what can I get you?"

"I'll have the cheeseburger and Kiera", he looked over at his adopted daughter but she hid her face behind a menu, "she'll have the same". Shelby smiled before heading off the kitchen to process the order.

"She wasn't going to bite", Jason whispered to Kiera.

"Sorry I just froze", she replied and lowered the menu, "what are the odds of meeting an ex-student here?"

"Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember that Shelby lived in Hunston. Always struck me as a little strange that she would travel down to Angel Grove for lessons", Jason mused.

"Well Adam's dojo is pretty famous in California", Kiera replied, "wouldn't be the first time someone travelled across the state to learn from him".

Suddenly their conversion was interrupted by several blasts that rocked the cafe. Most of the patrons ran out screaming or hid under the tables but Jason was immediately on his feet. Stepping outside with Kiera close behind him, he saw legions of white suited creatures. Their suits had patches of green and their grey heads were expressionless expect for specks of orange. They had green and black hair that looked like dreadlocks. Jason and Kiera were soon joined outside by Tyler and Shelby, "What the hell are they?" Tyler asked.

Jason didn't know exactly but he had seen enough footsoldiers over the years to know what they represented, "I'm not sure but everyone stay inside", he replied as the group ducked a blast of laser fire.

"Are you kidding old man", Tyler exclaimed excitedly, "they need to be stopped", with that he sprinted towards the oncoming soldiers. He was closely followed by Shelby and Riley, who had retrieved a training sword his bag.

Kiera laughed, "Old man".

Jason rolled his eyes, "Great and I thought this would be a monster free city", he mumbled before running after the others.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**_A/N - _**_Welcome everyone to my take on Power Rangers Dino Charge. First thing to point out is that this story takes place about a year after The Armada's invasion. Secondly I've played around with the ranger's ages a little bit in comparison with their rumoured ages in the series (so they're not all teenagers). Finally I've adjusted the black and blue ranger's personalities so they're a little closer their Sentai counterparts. Hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. _


	2. Sins Of The Daughter

_Chapter 2 – Sins Of The Daughter_

Ducking under the swing from one of the mysterious monsters, Jason turned and landed a kick in its midsection. Another two monsters were standing in his path but they were no match for the original red ranger. His martial arts style had evolved with age, eliminating most of the acrobatic flips that he had used as a teenager. Utilising his strength and experience, he punched a white suited creature before hitting the other with a spinning kick.

Glancing over at the teens that had joined him, he smiled as his former student nailed one the creatures in the head with a roundhouse kick. Shelby was hindered by the 50's style skirt she was wearing but it didn't stop her landing a spinning kick on another monster. Clearly she had kept up with her martial arts training in the years since he had taught her. Jason then looked at the blonde haired teen, who had managed to procure himself a sword. The teen slashed through the creatures with power and speed that the former red ranger hadn't seen in a long time. Jason nearly went to help the teen when three monsters bore down on him but the blonde haired youth simply spun in a tight circle and sliced the creatures through the chest.

Jason's gaze then fell onto the slightly older man, the one who had charged into the battle without a second though. The former red ranger was quietly impressed, the man hadn't received much formal training but he more than make up for this with speed and resourcefulness. He had grabbed a loose trash can lid and used it as an improved shield. When the creatures had tired themselves out attacking, he used the lid as a Frisbee and knocked several creatures to the ground.

Back at the diner's entrance, Chase, Koda and Kiera were internally debating whether to help out. The white suited creatures were being held off by the others from the diner but this was simply drawing the attention of more creatures, "Come on they need our help", Chase implored Koda.

"Since when you do care about anyone but yourself", Koda spat back.

"Hey you don't know the first thing about me", Chase countered before getting in the face of the repairman, "what's the matter, afraid your sister will shout at you". The man in blue spluttered something but the sentence wasn't coherent for Chase to understand. He then turned his attention to Kiera and flashed his best smile, "Don't worry pretty lady, I can handle this from here". Kiera blushed but she then saw one of the creatures sneaking up on Chase. Pushing him out the way, she kicked the monster in the stomach. Koda then grabbed hold of its arms and threw it into a nearby sign.

Chase laughed before punching another creature in the stomach and lifting it over his head. He tossed the monster into the side of the diner, "Well what are we waiting for?"

"Don't listen to him", Kiera called out to Koda, "he's just being an ass". The repair man smiled before picking up a loose piece of wood and cracking it over the head of a monster. The white suited assailants had the numbers advantage over the group but they weren't used to meeting resistance. Deciding to find easier targets, they soon turned and fled from their attackers.

"And don't come back", Tyler yelled out before whopping with joy. He almost bounced over the others, "Did you see that, we totally kicked their butts, even you old man", he added giving Jason a nudge.

"Not so much with the old", Jason replied, "I'm only 36 I'll have you know". He then stretched out his arms a couple of times, "Although I can't take as much punishment as I used to be able to".

"So what do we do now?" Chase asked the others.

"I dunno about you lot but I'm going to find some more of those things", Tyler smiled. He ran off after the monsters before anyone had a chance to stop him.

"Is he always like that?" Jason asked.

"Dunno never seen him before today", Riley responded, "gotta admire his bravery though".

Jason shrugged, he couldn't disagree with that, "I'll go and get some help", he replied as he took hold of Kiera's hand, "you four should stay here for the moment, at least until help arrives". The other nodded and began to slowly walk inside the diner.

"You know what the appearance of footsoldiers usually means", Kiera said once the others were out of earshot, "there's a bigger bad out there somewhere".

"I know but there's nothing we can do about it", Jason replied, "I mean I've got my morpher still but that won't be enough for long".

Kiera smirked before running towards their pick up, "What if I told you I had a solution", she found the keys and fired the engine into life.

Jason sighed, "I don't think I'm going to like this".

_Scott Residence_

Kiera had sped home as fast as the truck would allow them to go. Fortunately with monsters on the loose, the Police were more worried about them rather than a speeding motorist. The truck screeched to a halt on the driveway and Kiera jumped out and ran inside, with Jason close behind her. The pair ran up the stairs and into Kiera's bedroom, where she pulled out the flight case with the weird logo, "Now before I show you this Uncle Jason, you've got to promise me that you won't be angry".

"No promises", was his simple response. Sighing Kiera opened the case to reveal several weapons, more specifically guns. Unlike any guns Jason had seen before, these were predominately yellow with some black markings. The weapons had a large cylindrical bullet chamber but most unusually, the muzzle of the weapon was stylized to look like a snarling dinosaur. Carefully Jason pulled one out of the case, "What the hell are these?" he asked.

"Something of my own design", Kiera replied as she too pulled out a weapon, "I call them Dinovolvers and they're designed to be used with these". She opened up another case to reveal a collections of small battery shaped objects. There were all mostly clear except for a small picture of different dinosaurs. Some of them were sorted by colour, others were mostly black. The batteries were numbered from 1 to 22, except there were none numbered from 6 to 10. "I call them Energems", Kiera continued, "I found these ones on that trip we made Reefside to visit Uncle Tommy a few years ago".

Jason remembered that trip well, Kiera had found them in the forest surrounding Tommy's place. The multi-coloured ranger had no idea what they were and neither did his friend and former ranger tech Hayley. The only thing they could tell about them was that they were extremely powerful. "So this is that mystery project you've been working on for the all this time", Jason said as he handled one of the batteries in his hand. It glowed slightly as he turned it over, seeing a picture of a Tyrannosaurus on the battery.

"It's recognising your T-Rex spirit", Kiera replied, "each one of the Energems is infused with the spirit of a dinosaur. Unfortunately your existing T-Rex spirit isn't enough for you to use it".

"Use it for what", Jason frowned.

Kiera laughed, "Look at the colours", Jason did as he was instructed and looked at the first five batteries. They were red, black, blue, green and pink. His eyes widened as it dawned on him, they were ranger colours, "penny finally dropped then", Kiera laughed.

"But, how", Jason spluttered, "how did my seventeen year old daughter make her own team of Power Rangers?"

"It wasn't my intention", Kiera said defensively, "I needed something to draw the power out of the batteries. Only once I had done that did I realise what the gems could do. The ranger powers were already inside them, I just gave them a helping hand". She pulled out the one of the black, blue, green and pink batteries, "Now all we need is someone to use them and I have some people in mind".

Jason put the Dinovolver down, "Already?"

Kiera nodded, "These gems were completely dormant until today, which I believe means they've found their owners. I think it's that group we encountered at the diner". Jason began to protest but Kiera held up her hands to stop him, "Just here me out, clearly they've got the right qualities to be a ranger. Plus all of them seemed to know how to handle themselves, to a degree. As an added bonus did you happen to what colours they were wearing?"

Jason was about to disagree with that point until he noticed the red top he was wearing. Even more than twenty years after Zordon had chosen him to be a ranger, he was still drawn towards the colour red. "Alright let's just say these five are the latest team of rangers, how are we going to explain this to them. If we just come out and say it, they'll think we're nuts".

"You're right they'll think Jason Lee Scott and his daughter are nuts", Kiera smirked, "but I bet they'll listen to the original red ranger".

Jason sighed, "This is using the power for personal gain", he countered.

"To potentially form a ranger team, I don't think Zordon would mind", Kiera replied. She reached into another box and saw Jason's Power Morpher sitting on the top. She grabbed hold of it and tossed it over to her adopted father.

"You'd better be right about this", Jason said as he checked over his morpher.

"I usually am", she smiled in response.

Jason shook his head before calling, "It's morphin' time", thrusting the morpher out in front of him, it snapped open and he added, "Tyrannosaurus".

_Finchey's Diner_

An hour after the attack Chase, Koda, Riley and Shelby were sitting around a table in silence waiting for the two strangers to return. Riley pushed a salt shaker across the table in boredom as Chase checked his reflection on the back of a spoon, much to the annoyance of Shelby, "Do you have to do that?"

"You never know who could come for us", he responded, "I'm hoping for an attractive nurse".

"Am I the only one freaking out about this?" Koda said to the others, "we were just attacked by some freaky looking creatures".

"Relax would you, we handled it pretty well", Chase replied.

"Don't you see that was just the beginning", Koda began, "my family lived in Angel Grove for three years in the early nineties. You don't understand the terror of being caught up in a monster attack".

"You seemed to handle yourself pretty well", Riley added without looking up from the table.

"Instinct nothing more", Koda replied, bringing a snort from Chase, "what's so funny?"

"Dude you used some old school wrestling moves on them", Chase began, "I don't remember the Power Rangers chokeslamming a monster before".

"I like to watch wrestling in my spare time, it's not a crime", Koda responded defensively.

"Guys would you knock it off", Shelby cried, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I've got the start of a massive headache". Just then a bell rang out through the empty diner, indicating someone had walked through the door, "Sorry we're closed", Shelby called out.

"Even for me", a voice said. The group turned to the end of the table and were stunned to see the original red Power Ranger standing right in from.

"Oh my god", Koda exclaimed, "is it really you", Jason nodded his head, "I was such a huge fan, well both my sister and I were. What should we do, should we salute or something?"

"Don't be an idiot", Riley mumbled.

Inside his helmet Jason smiled, "Just relax and act normally", he began, "I wish I had more time to explain but I need your help", he looked around everyone at the table, "all of you".

"I'm not sure what we can do to help a Power Ranger", Shelby replied.

"I heard that you fended off an attack from a group of footsoldiers", Jason began, "that was pretty impressive". He pulled out a piece of paper and the batteries, "Meet me at this address in an hour and you'll need to bring these". He wasn't sure if the batteries corresponded to anyone at the table so he dished them out based on the colours they were wearing. He gave Chase the black Energem, Koda the blue, Riley the green and finally Shelby the pink one. He was surprised that the batteries shone brightly in their hands, "Huh wasn't sure if that would work", he muttered before realising he was missing someone, "where's the other guy that was here, the one with the shoulder length hair?"

"He ran off to find more of those creatures", Chase scoffed.

"He could have gone home", Shelby added as she stood up from the table. She fished through a pile of papers before finding what she was looking for, "Here's his home address", she said and gave the piece of paper to Jason.

"Thank you Miss, I'll see you all in an hour", with that Jason hurried out of the Diner.

"Are we actually going?" Riley asked the others.

"Why not, this day can't get any weirder. Plus there's four of us, we could take him", Chase replied.

"You can't turn down the original red ranger", Koda smiled.

"Count me in, but I need to change out of this stupid dress first", Shelby added, pointing at her uniform. "I'll grab you all a drink in the mean time", she returned to the kitchen and to make a batch of coffee for everyone.

_Hunston Youth Hostel_

Tyler Navarro flopped down on his bed and sighed in frustration. He hadn't found any more of the creatures, obviously they had all been frightened away, so he decided to return to the hostel to clean himself up. He couldn't afford to rent an apartment in the city but he had struck a deal with the manager of the hostel. Tyler would cater for the other residence at the hostel and he could stay there for free.

He rolled over and looked at a picture on a small table, it was himself as a young boy standing next to his father. His Dad was an archaeologist and he used to take him on several digs around the world. Due to this Tyler never really had a formal education, everything he learned came from his father, other archaeologists of the locals of the town where they were staying at the time.

When Tyler was twelve, his father had woken him early one day and announced that he was leaving on a great quest, one where his son couldn't follow him. They were on a small island called Tuvalu at the time and his father had arranged for him to stay with a local nobleman for a few years to finish off his education. As a parting gift, his father gave him an amber pendant with a fossilised dinosaur bone inside. He promised his son that he would return one day when the time was right.

He never felt any ill will towards his father, Tyler believed every word his father said that day. When he was eighteen, he left his adopted home and travelled the world in search of adventure and knowledge. He had taken in the carnival season in Brazil, the running of the bulls in Spain, caught fish barehanded in Africa, along with various other activities. Even though it had been nine years since he last saw his father, Tyler was certain that they would meet again.

After visiting some of the most glamorous and entertaining parts of the world, Tyler wasn't sure why he picked a small city in Northern California as his next stop. It felt like something was calling him towards this part of the world. He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on his door. Rolling off the bed, he straightened out his clothes and answered the door. He was more than surprised to see the original red Power Ranger standing there, "Erm hello", he said.

"Hello Tyler", Jason greeted, "I need your help".

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. False Start

_Chapter 3 – False Start_

_Scott Residence_

Chase, Koda, Riley and Shelby pulled up at the address given to them by the original red ranger in Koda's business van. The quartet stepped out on the driveway and looked over the large house with suspicion. The property stood on its own just off the main road but there were other houses just down the street. It didn't seem like an ideal place for a Power Ranger to operate out of, "You sure this is the right place", Riley asked.

"It's the address on the card", Koda replied as he slammed the driver's door shut.

Before leaving the diner, Shelby had swapped her work uniform for a pink top and white jeans. She looked through one of the windows but saw nothing except for an empty room, "This place gives me the creeps", she added.

Deciding not to wait for the others, Chase strode confidently up to the door, "Come on where's your sense of adventure". He went to knock on the door but found that it was open. He was about to step inside when a stray cat burst out of the house. Startled the young man stumbled backwards and landed on his backside in some weeds.

The others laughed at his misfortune, "Smooth", Shelby was about to say between her giggles. Koda reached down and pulled Chase off the ground, the man in black grumbled a thank you to the repair man. Sticking together the group pushed the door open and stepped into the main hallway. Looking around the property, they noticed a thick layer of dust along with several cardboard boxes. It looked like the property hadn't been lived in for years.

"Hello", Chase called out, "Mr Red Ranger".

They waited for a response but none was forthcoming, "Maybe he's not back yet", Shelby said to the others. Just then they all heard a creak from upstairs, "What was that?"

"I dunno but maybe we should check it out", Koda added.

"Have you ever seen a horror movie", Chase replied, "because they all start like this".

"Perhaps we should go together", Shelby suggested, "Riley you can go first".

"Why me?" the youngster replied.

"Because you're the only one with a weapon", Shelby replied, pointing at the fencing saber in his hand. Before they could venture upstairs, the hallway was illuminated by a bright red light. The glare receded and revealed the original red ranger.

"Glad you could make it", Jason began, "I apologise for my lateness".

The other looked around and saw that he was alone, "Did you not find Tyler?" Riley asked.

"Yeah he should be...", Jason voice trailed off when he realised that Tyler wasn't with him. Another column of red light filled the hall and a figure landed face first on a pile of empty boxes. Tyler kicked the boxes off his body and got to his feet, "Sorry about that Tyler, the teleportation system has been dodgy since", he stopped and decided not to tell the latest potential rangers about the destruction of the Power Chamber seventeen years ago, "you know that's not important right now".

"Ok so now we're all here, perhaps it's time for you to spill the beans", Chase said.

Jason nodded in response, "Follow me", he stated and led the group upstairs towards Kiera's room. He pushed the door open and muttered darkly when he saw that she had left him alone. "I did hope that the genius who found the gems would be here to help me but it appears she's had to step out", he said once the group were all inside.

"Perhaps you could start with what these are", Tyler opened his hand to reveal the red Energem. The others followed suit and showed their gems.

"The gems contain the spirit of the dinosaurs", Jason began, "when you took possession of them, the dinosaurs spirit inside the gems recognised you as their true owner". The group looked over their gems to find out their chosen dinosaur spirit, Shelby's was the Triceratops, Riley's was the Velociraptor, Koda's spirit was the Stegosaurus, Chase's was the Parasaurolophus and finally Tyler's was the Tyrannosaurus.

"That's all great but what are we meant to do with them?" Chase asked, drawing a murmur of agreement from the others.

"I was coming to that", Jason replied. He opened a metal flight case and pulled out five Dinovolvers and handed them out. "The dino spirit can be used to fight off the monsters that you battled today. It can give you access to weapons, armour and powers that you've only dreamt of".

Tyler caught on the quickest to way Jason was hinting at, "You mean we get to be Power Rangers?" Jason nodded, "Awesome!" he punched the air in excitement. The others though didn't share his enthusiasm and the room was filled with a cacophony of protests.

Jason sighed and held his hands up to silence the group, "Hey one at a time", he pointed at Riley but he then realised he only knew Tyler's and Shelby's names, "Yes, you".

"Riley", he spat out, "I can't be a Power Ranger, I'm only 16 that must be too young".

"You're starting two years later than I did kid", Jason laughed. "I saw you out there today, fighting off those monsters to protect innocent people. You all fought with skill and bravery that any perspective ranger needs. It appears that the Dino spirits in the Energems agrees as well".

"Hang on, how did you see us fighting today", Tyler asked, "the only one with us was the shy kid and the old man".

"Tyler for the last time I'm not that old", Jason cried out before he could stop himself. The group looked at him with a shocked expression when they realised who he was, "Crap", Jason muttered and powered down, "Yes I was there earlier today, my name's is Jason Lee Scott and I am the original red ranger".

"This is so cool", Shelby exclaimed, "I was taught by a Power Ranger".

"Yes Shelby and I would prefer that you would keep that to yourselves. Oh and repairman", he said to Koda, "perhaps go a little easy on the hero worship", he smiled.

"Yes sir, I mean, sure thing Jason", he spluttered, "and the name's Koda".

He laughed at the bumbling antics of the man before continuing, "I'll tell you a story, when I was a high school freshman an intergalactic space wizard picked me and four of my friends to be Earth's original team of Power Rangers. I've seen my fair share of rangers over the last 20 years, I even led all of them into battle against the Armada last year. From what I've seen today you've all got the potential to be excellent rangers. You're all a little rough around the edges but I'm sure with time they can be smoothed out".

"Don't worry old man, you can count on me", Tyler smiled.

Jason rolled his eyes, clearly Tyler wasn't going to let that nickname go, "Thanks", he smiled before adding, "rookie". He then looked at the others, who weren't looking quite as sure about their new powers, "How about you guys?" Before anyone could answer his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket he saw that it was Kiera, "Thanks for leaving me to explain the Energems and morphers to the new team", he greeted.

The latest ranger team looked at each other as Jason had an argument with the person on the other end of the phone. Judging by the conversation he was speaking to the technical expert he mentioned, "Monster's are attacking where?" Jason continued, "well let's hope they know where that is", he lowered his phone and addressed the rangers, "those monsters are back near the mall, think you can handle this?" he asked.

"I've got a question", Riley began, "how do you get these things to work", he waived his Dinovolver in his hand.

"Did you get that", Jason said into his phone. He listened to the response before relaying it to the team, "Apparently you need to hit the lever on the back of the gun. That opens the barrel and once you've done that you insert your Energem into the gun. After that she's not sure, hopefully the Dino spirit will guide you".

"Ooh I've got one", Koda said raising his hand, "do we get zords".

Jason put his phone back to his ear as Kiera spoke, "According to her research into the gems, each Energem can summon a zord version of its dinosaur, however, it won't manifest itself until it thinks you're worthy enough".

"Can you tell her to relay this stuff to us directly next time rather than through a phone", Chase added sarcastically.

Jason moved the handset away from his ear as Kiera shouted something in response, "She'll take that under advisement", he replied, "now let's go to the mall".

_Hunston Valley Mall_

Koda's van screeched to a halt outside the main entrance to the mall and the five rangers bundled out of the vehicle. People were running for cover as the footsoldiers attacked nearby buildings, causing rubble to fall to the street below. Sensing that a group of people weren't running, the monsters turned around to face the rangers. With their Dinovolvers in one hand and their Energems in the others, they looked nervously at the massing soldiers, "I'm starting to regret this decision", Koda muttered.

"Alright rangers it's time", Jason said from behind them.

"Are you not joining us?" Chase asked.

Jason shook his head, "This is you battle", he replied.

Tyler stepped forward and popped the barrel of his Dinovolver open. He pushed a small button on his Energem which caused it to light up, "Dino Spirits", he called out and inserted the gem into the morpher. The others quickly followed suit and soon all five Dinovolvers were primed. The rangers spun the chambers on their morphers before pointing them to the sky, "Dino Charge", they called and pulled the trigger.

Five different coloured beams of light shot into the air before engulfing the group in their respective colour. When the light cleared, five Power Rangers were standing ready for battle. The body of their suit were in the ranger's respective colours, complete with colour matching boots. The arms of the suits had a pattern which gave the appearance of lizard skin. The arms of their suits were completed by elbow length white gloves. The chest of the suit had the same yellow design as the logo on Kiera's case. Each of the rangers had a silver armoured section on their left shoulders. Finally the helmets had a design which matched their respective dinosaur.

"I don't believe it", Tyler cried as he looked at his red suit and gloved hands.

"We're actually Power Rangers", Koda added, admiring his blue suit.

"Not sure how easy this will be to fight in though", Shelby said as she tugged on her suit's pink skirt.

"Let's see what these powers can do", Chase used his Dinovolver as a gun and began firing black energy at the monsters, they disintegrated with each shot. Tyler jumped into battle with the same enthusiasm as earlier today, spinning in a tight circle and blasting anything that came in his way. Rolling over the back of the black ranger, Tyler drop kicked a monster before Chase shot the creature between the eyes with his blaster.

Shelby used some of her martial arts skills to deliver a roundhouse kick to a nearby monster before punching another in the stomach. Drawing out her Dinovolver, she finished those two off with a quick blast of laser fire. Meanwhile Koda used his strength to punch through a few monsters of his own. He thought about using his weapon but the brute strength approach appeared to be working. Picking up another monster onto his shoulder he threw it in the direction of Shelby, who shot it out of the air.

The green ranger decided on a different approach. Putting his Dinvolver away Riley called on his Dino Blade, a long yellow bladed sword. Using his swordsmanship he sliced through several monsters, leaving a heap on the ground. Seeing that the red and black rangers were having difficulty, he leapt into the air with his blade ready. Drawing a circle in the air he swung his sword and sent a powerful blast of green energy at the monsters, turning them to dust.

Seeing they were getting beaten, the footsoldiers began gathering together. In a matter of moments they had created two giant version of themselves, "Great now what do we do?" Tyler called out to Jason.

"Erm not sure", he replied, "footsoldiers didn't do that back in my day".

Suddenly the rangers heard a distant roar and the ground began to shake. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the city before the source of the noise became clear. With a loud cry, a giant red and white robotic Tyrannosaurus made his presence known. Looking down at the rangers, it singled out Tyler and shot his head towards the ground. The ranger flinched thinking it was going to attack but instead it nudged the red ranger gently with its snout.

"Aww that's cute", Shelby cooed, in response the dinosaur snorted in derision. It continued to nudge Tyler, particularly on his yellow box shaped belt buckle, "I think it wants something", Shelby continued. Chase snorted with laughter earned pointed looks from the other rangers.

"Are you always this crude?" Riley asked but the black ranger simply shrugged.

Tyler's belt buckled began to glow and the red ranger opened the panel, revealing three more Energems. He took one out and showed it to the Tyrannosaurus, who nodded his head in response, "I think he wants this". The dinosaur stood back up and opened its mouth, Tyler threw the Energem which grew in size and slotted into the Tyrannosaurus like a giant battery.

"Ok that's different", Jason commented from the sidelines.

"Go get them Rex", Tyler called out to his zord. The red dinosaur roared and crashed into the two giant monsters. With a swing of its mighty tail, the first monster was effortlessly defeated. The second monster was a little tougher, managing to bite the Tyranno Zord on its shoulder. The dinosaur roared in pain before butting the giant monster. It opened its mouth and fired a powerful beam at the giant monster, disintegrating it and the smaller footsoldiers it was made from. Rex roared in triumph as Tyler gave him a thumbs up, "Good job boy", he called out. The zord spat the Energem out, which returned to normal size. Tyler caught it as the Tyrannosaurus ran back out of the city.

"Well done rangers", Jason said to the others in congratulations. They hit the lever on the back on their Dinovolvers and ejected their Energems, causing them to power down.

"Man that was awesome, I can't wait to do that again", Tyler cried.

"I'm sure you'll get a chance", Jason replied, "if my experience is anything to go by, this is only just the beginning".

"You mean we'll have to do this regularly", Koda asked, "I'll have to think about this. I mean I've got my job and my sister to think about", he slowly backed away from others.

"Yeah I've got school and stuff", Riley added.

"Yeah what they said", Shelby stated.

Jason looked over to Chase who was unmoved, "What about you?" he asked.

The black ranger shook his head, "I prefer to work alone", he began to walk away, followed slowly by the others.

"Guys wait up", Tyler cried as he began to chase after the rest of his team. Jason watched them leave and shook his head, now he knew how Zordon must've felt when he and the others walked away when they first got their powers.

"Well that went well", Kiera called out from behind Jason. He jumped up in the air, startled by his adopted daughter.

"Don't do that", he replied, "and what are you doing here?"

"Came to see my handiwork in action", she stated.

"Well you could've helped me out earlier", Jason began, "we're going to have a long talk when we get home. Consider yourself grounded for the next two weeks".

"Aww Uncle Jason", she cried, "that's not fair. The work I did is going to help to save the world".

Jason sighed, "Fine I'll think about it", he looked around and realised that everyone had gone. As he had come in Koda's van, he now had no way of getting home, "Great it'll take us ages to walk home".

"Not necessarily", Kiera answered, "come with me and I'll show you the new teleportation system". She linked arms with her adopted father and led him towards a alleyway. They stood on a white stone and Kiera pulled out another Dinovolver. With a pull on the trigger the two were teleported away.

_**A/N - **Some of you might be thinking that Tyler is a little too happy and enthusiastic (possibly bordering on annoying). That's intentional I am going somewhere with his character trust me. I'll also add the first 8 chapters mostly act as an introduction to the characters and powers so hopefully any questions you have about the origins of the Energems or the rangers will be answered by then. _


	4. Seize The Day

_Chapter 4 – Seize The Day_

_Pacific Ocean_

The city of Hunston Valley sat about a mile and half from the Pacific coast. In comparison with other locations in California, the local beaches were reasonably quiet, even during the high of summer. What the locals and tourists didn't know was that the sparkling waters of the Pacific held a dark secret.

A few miles off the coast and deep under water sat a giant crystalline structure. Unlike most crystals this one was mostly black with a hint of green occasionally shining through. Out the top of the main crystal body hundreds of black tentacles reached out into the water. A few wrapped themselves tightly around the main structure.

The crystal itself wasn't completely solid, part of the structure was hollow. Inside this section the walls were pale pink, similar to the colour of flesh. The floor of the enclave covered in mist and slimy in texture. The dominating feature in the room was three large thermometers, blood red in colour. At the top of the thermometers were a carved face, each one had a different expression. One was smiling, another was crying and the final one was contoured into an angry expression.

Two figures slowly walked into the room and cast their eyes over the poles. The first was wearing dark blue armour from head to toe. His helmet was the same colour as his suit but the face plate had the permanent expression of sadness etched onto it. Glowing yellow eyes flickered as they observed one of the poles, the one marked with anger, begin to rise.

The other figure clapped enthusiastically, much to the annoyance of the armoured solider. Her body was pink and she was wearing yellow boots and elbow length gloves. Her skirt was made up of several pink hearts and which connected to a yellow corset top. Her head was the shape of a pink heart but with a white patch cut out, revealing her permanently smiling face. "Do you have to do that Lady Jodella", the knight moaned, "it's most unbecoming of a general in the Legion of Deboss".

Jodella blew a raspberry at the knight, "Don't bring your frowny face into this room General Sorrow", she replied cheerily, "this is a happy day for us".

"Indeed it is Lady Jodella", another voice replied. A third person entered the room, he was dressed in a red and black robe that reached all the way to the floor. On his back was a singular silver steel wing, it looked like there had been a matching one on the other side but this was missing. His head was also silver with several large spikes sticking up into the air. Around his green face were smaller versions of the faces that were carved into the thermometers.

"General Chaos", Jodella and Sorrow stated and dropped to one knee.

"Rise faithful servants of Deboss", Chaos replied. He inspected the thermometer in front of him, "I see General Fury is already hard at work on Earth", he muttered to himself. "For 65 million years we have been imprisoned in this structure but finally we have awoken", he roared. "When the time is right, the Master will arise and lay waste to this planet once again".

"Pardon my ignorance", Sorrow raised his hand, "but how are we going to do that?"

Chaos chuckled, "Simple, you will put your talents to good use", he turned to the female general, "Lady Jodella you will harvest the happy from the humans", next he turned to Sorrow, "General Sorrow you will reduce the population to tears. Their sadness will be absorbed by the Master. Finally General Fury will make the humans so angry they will be fit to explode". He extended his hands and waived at the thermometers, "Once we have drained enough happiness, anger and sadness from the human, then the Master will live again".

Jodella laughed loudly, "Boy this is going to be fun".

Chaos nodded, "Glad you think so, now I've come up with a plan".

_Scott Residence_

Jason climbed the stairs leading to the top floor of his home. He hadn't seen Kiera all morning and he was beginning to worry about his adopted daughter. Since the rangers initial battle he had barely seen her, except for during meal times. Usually she shovelled down her food quickly before disappearing again. Suddenly Jason stopped in front of a large double door that he notice when he viewed the property. He looked closer and it bore the same symbol as the ranger's uniforms. Pulling on the door he found that it was locked, which was strange as there wasn't a lock.

"Sorry you need a Dinovolver to enter the lab", he heard Kiera's voice call out, "gimme a sec and I'll open it up". The door clicked and the former red ranger stepped inside. He jaw dropped as he saw the room had three large screen televisions and an impressive array of computer equipment. In the corner of the room was a large chemistry set, complete with a series of colourful chemicals. In the other corner of the room were four small shelves with glowing red lights. On closer inspection, Jason saw this held all of the Energems in their possession.

In between these two items was a large black leather chair which was sitting in front of two smaller monitors. The chair turned around to reveal Kiera, who smiled warmly at Jason. Over her normal clothes was a white lab coat, "Nice look", Jason laughed, "even wearing your glasses I see".

"Yeah not through choice", Kiera sighed, "had to take my contacts out, they were irritating my eyes".

"Do I want to know where this all came from?" he asked.

Kiera shook her head, "Probably not, oh and I would advise you against using your credit cards for a while". Jason shook his head disapprovingly, "Well the rangers needed a base of operations and it gave me the excuse to get the lab I wanted", she smiled.

Jason didn't response, instead he looked over the rack containing the Energems, "Still haven't found gems six through ten then?"

"Afraid not", Kiera replied, "there's nothing matching the energy signatures of the other Energems out there". She grabbed a remote off her work station, "I've prepared a briefing about the rangers, wanna see?"

"Alright then", Jason began, "but don't think we're not going to talk about the money you spent on this equipment".

Kiera smiled and began the slideshow, "Firstly we have Tyler Navarro, the latest red ranger. Not much in the system about him except that he was born in El Paso, Texas in 1994. Last record we have until recently was of him boarding a flight to Tuvalu in 2006 with his father. Currently he's staying in a hostel in the center of the city".

The image changed to show the new black ranger, "Chase Randall, like Tyler he's also 21 years old. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he joined the army straight out of high school. Weirdly most of his service details have been sealed".

"Can't you", Jason waived his hands, "unseal them?"

"I could", Kiera replied, "but that would probably draw unwanted attention. All I can tell is that he received a medical discharge six months ago, after which he moved to Hunston Valley". She pushed the remote again, "Next up is Koda Yamamoto, and his history is really weird. He's the oldest of the group at 26 years old, according to his file he graduated with Masters in engineering from MIT last year but since then he's worked at his older sister's repair store in the city".

"Maybe he can't find any work", Jason stated, "graduates don't always jump into their chosen field".

"Yeah but his stuff is good, almost to the same level as Aunt Hayley", Kiera said. "According to MIT's records, he had company's tapping him up before he left college". She shook her head and moved onto the next ranger, "From the oldest to the youngest, meet the green ranger, Riley Griffin. 16 year old student at the local high school, he's on the fencing team, good disciplinary record and stuff. Middle of his class kinda guy really".

"Can't all be geniuses Kiera", Jason laughed.

Kiera smiled before introducing the final ranger, "Lastly we have your old student Shelby Watkins. Just graduated from a private school but no college lined up but get this, her parents are loaded". She showed Jason a picture of their home, well mansion would be a better description of the property.

Jason whistled but stopped when he looked at her Dad closer, "Hey I know him", he began, "that's Tyrelle Watkins, one of the greatest running backs in NFL history".

"Got it in one", Kiera smiled, "part of the Super Bowl winning St Louis Rams, he's now a colour commentator for network TV".

"I never knew her Dad was famous", Jason shook his head, "in fact I don't remember talking about her parents at all".

"Well as you can see we've got a real mixed bag", Kiera stated, "that's if they decide to return".

"Tyler is the only one to return my calls so far", Jason replied, "guess we just have to wait and see".

"In the mean time, let me show you some of the Energems in action", Kiera said as she grabbed a Dinovolver and a few of the gems.

"I thought only the rangers could use them?" Jason asked.

Kiera shrugged, "Maybe they recognise me as the creator of the Dinovolvers". She inserted gem number 22 into the weapon and pointed it at Jason, "This might sting", she stated. Before he had a chance to respond Kiera fired and he was struck with a beam of light. Suddenly his body expanded into a giant balloon.

"Kiera!" he cried, "what the hell".

"Sorry couldn't resist", Kiera chuckled, "scientific curiosity and all".

"Turn me back", he shouted as he bounced up and down, "I've got an interview at the museum in an hour".

"Really, that's fantastic", Kiera cried.

"Yeah that's what I coming to tell you", he replied, "Tommy phoned earlier, Anton Mercer put in a word for me with curator". He cried in pain as he bounced so high he hit the ceiling, "but I can't go looking like this". Kiera sighed and ejected the gem from the weapon's barrel, returning Jason to his normal size. He straightened out his clothes before pointing at his adopted daughter, "I'll be back in an hour, try not to burn the place down". Kiera waived him off as the doors to the lab closed behind him.

_Valley Repairs_

Koda sighed as he slowly rose out of bed. The morning light burned his eyes but they soon rested on his latest possession, his Dinovolver. He couldn't believe that an ancient dinosaur spirit had chosen him to be a Power Ranger. There were times when he was sure that he dreamt the events of three days ago but the evidence was there in front of him. He didn't tell Jason this but he had lived in Angel Grove during Rita Repulsa's initial invasion. He and his sister had idolised the rangers, to an extent he still did. Unfortunately his sister's faith had been broken, and as he recalled that memory of that painful event he let out an audible sigh.

"Koda are you decent", he heard his sister called out.

"Just a sec", he replied. Quickly pulling on some pyjama bottoms and hiding his Dinovolver, he opened the door, "Hey Chloe", he greeted.

Chloe Yuzuki was four years older than her brother. She was a few inches shorter than her younger brother and today she had pulled her long black hair back into a high ponytail. She was dressed in the light blue uniform of her repair company, "Don't forget you've got that job at the museum in an hour", she reminded him. "I'm taking Kristy down there now, her youth club is working on the dinosaur exhibition", Kristy was Chloe's 8 year old daughter.

Koda couldn't help but laugh at the irony of that, "Yeah sure, hopefully none of those monsters will show up again".

"Don't say things like that", Chloe tensed up immediately at the mention of monsters.

"Don't worry I'm sure the Power Rangers will take care of them", he replied with a small smile.

Chloe snorted, "Yeah right, like they helped when..." he voice trailed off, "well you know", the blue ranger nodded sadly in acknowledgement. "Koda can I ask you something, why are you here?"

"Well I was sleeping", he replied in confusion.

"You know what I mean", she stated, "you've got a degree from MIT under your belt. You could do anything you wanted but instead you're living in a small apartment above my shop and working as a repairman".

Koda sighed, "I just want to help you and Kristy out", he replied, "just until everything's stabilised".

"It's been nearly a year Koda", Chloe replied, "I think I'm going to be alright now, it's time to start living for yourself", she smiled and walked back downstairs. Koda shut the door and retrieved his Dinovolver, maybe his sister was right.

_Watkins residence_

The Watkins estate sat on several acres of land on the outskirts of the city. The mansion had more rooms than Shelby cared to remember. She was sure that more kept magically appearing overnight. Up in her bedroom she was dressed in her workout gear and was going through a few practice katas. Every so often she would catch sight of her Dinovolver sitting on her bedside table.

If the pink ranger was honest with herself, she hadn't really worked too hard for anything in life. Being the daughter to Tyrelle Watkins opened a lot of doors for her. The fact that the spirit of the Triceratops had considered her worthy of protecting the Earth was slightly scary for the teenager. This was the chance she had been waiting for, a chance to show everyone that she wasn't just the rich daughter of a famous retired footballer. The truth was that Shelby hated the social scene and events that her parents dragged her along too. She would much rather practice her martial arts or play sports. But her parents disapproved, they wanted her to be the perfect trophy daughter.

Shelby had gotten the job in the diner to prove to herself that she could work for something. Fortunately none of Hunston's elite came into the diner so she could be the person she wanted to be. Shelby practiced a couple of high kicks when suddenly she heard a creak from the staircase. Stopping what she was doing, she quickly wiped the sweat off her body and threw the towel into the corner of the room. Grabbing a pale pink cocktail dress off her bed, she pulled it on over her workout clothes and zipped it up. She leapt into her desk chair just as her father opened the door, "Shelby sweetie, your Mom and I are leaving for a few weeks", Tyrelle began, "I wish you would reconsider and come with us to Europe".

"I would love to Daddy", she replied sweetly, "but it's the height of the party season, I can't miss that".

He father smiled, "Alright Shelby, we'll be back at the end of August, now be good for the staff won't you". She smiled and wished her Dad a safe journey. When the door closed immediately took off the dress and tossed it into her wardrobe like it was an old rag. She looked at the Dinovolver again before picking it up. Today would be the day, she thought, that take the opportunity fate given me. Changing into a pink t shirt and white jeans, she placed the Dinovolver into her purse and set off for the city.

_**A/N – **__Thank you for the positive feedback so far it's really appreciated. So here are the villains (very similar to their Kyoryuger counterparts admittedly), along with a more detailed look in the background of the pink and blue rangers. For anyone who is following my "Chronicles of Power" series, the final story will be up tomorrow. _


	5. Three Out Of Five Ain't Bad

_Chapter 5 – Three Out Of Five Ain't Bad_

_Hunston Valley Museum_

Koda pulled up in the car park at the local museum and retrieved his tool box from the back of the van. As he walked around to the front of the building, he saw a group of children assembling a model Tyrannosaurus make of scrap metal. He smiled with pride as he saw a young Asian child with pig tails putting the arms of the dinosaur into place, it was his 8 year old niece Kristy. He found Chloe over the other side of the plaza talking with a few adults. To his surprise he recognised the man she was talking to, "Hey Koda over here", Chloe called out. The blue ranger walked past the children, smiling at Kristy on the way, "Little brother I'd like you to meet a new volunteer", she continued.

"Hey Tyler", Koda greeted the red ranger.

Chloe looked between the two men, "You know each other already?"

"Yeah we met at the diner a few days ago", Tyler replied, "I'm the new head chef".

"So what are you doing here?" Koda asked the red ranger.

"Oh I was in the area when I saw these kids making their model", he answered, "thought I'd stop and help them". He looked at the model dinosaur that was taking shape, "Big fan of the Tyrannosaurs me", he smiled. Koda rolled his eyes at the red ranger, Chloe though just looked between them in confusion.

At that moment Shelby approached the group, "Hey fancy bumping into you two", she said to Tyler and Koda.

Chloe did a double take when she saw Shelby, "Oh my gosh, you're Shelby Watkins", the pink ranger sighed and nodded in response.

"Is she famous or something?" Tyler asked in confusion, bringing a small smile from Shelby.

"She's Tyrelle Watkins' daughter", the two men stared back blankly, "you know, the Super Bowl winning running back", still no response from the red and blue rangers, "her family's on the Forbes rich list".

"Oh", Tyler replied before turning to Shelby, "so I was thinking of adding a special burger to the diner's menu tomorrow", he continued. Shelby was surprised, neither of these two seemed to care about her money or her famous father.

"You'll have to forgive my sister", Koda began, "the National Enquirer is her favourite magazine, she a total celebrity nut". Chloe's eyes narrowed and she slapped her younger brother round the back of his head.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you", Chloe extended her hand, "Chloe Yuzuki".

"Shelby Watkins", the pink ranger replied, "and don't believe everything you read. For example I've never even met Justin Bieber", the two girls laughed at the shared joke but once again the two men were confused.

"Mummy", Kristy called out, "come and see what we've done". Chloe bid goodbye to the trio and walked over to the model.

"Cute kid", Shelby said, "I've been thinking about everything", she opened her purse and showed the guys her Dinovolver, "and I want to help".

Koda opened his tool box, "Me too, I want to protect my family and this is the best way to do it".

Tyler smiled at the pair, "Fantastic, now all we need to do is convince the others". Before the red ranger could continue, laser fire rained down on museum. The children started screaming and everyone began ducking for cover. Several blasts hit the model statue, turning it back into scrap metal. The children immediately began to cry when they saw that their model had been destroyed. As they continued to cry, they slowly began to glow blue.

"I am seeing that", Shelby began, "those kids are glowing". Koda's gaze hadn't left Kristy and Chloe, they were alright but frightened.

The three rangers turned to see more of those weird footsoldiers approaching, this time they were accompanied by a monster. His body gave the impression of a car that had just been crushed and one of his hands was a digger scoop. Just in front of him was General Sorrow, holding a giant axe in his hand, "That's it, more juicy sorrow for the master".

"Hey tin can", Tyler called out, "leave these kids alone", Shelby and Koda moved up to his side in support.

"Foolish human, you will not stand in the way of Master Deboss", he replied, "Vivix attack". The footsoldiers charged at the rangers, unfortunately there were too many people around so they couldn't morph. Tyler quickly dodged under their weapons and kicked a Vivix in the ribcage. He found a loose piece of metal and smashed it around the head of the next two monsters who crossed his path.

Shelby backflipped away from an Vivix before sweeping the legs away from her would be attacker. She landed a roundhouse kick on another and followed this up with a back heel kick to a Vivix that tried to sneak up behind her. Picking up a wooden sign, she through it at two onrushing monsters. The creatures caught the piece of wood and Shelby jumped into a dropkick, sending the Vivix crashing to the ground.

The blue ranger stumbled backwards until his back was against the glass fronted building. Two Vivix charged but he sidestepped them and the hapless creatures crashed through the windows. Another creature came to the rescue of his friends but Koda intercepted him. He lifted the monster into the air and spun on the spot. After a few moments he threw the Vivix through the hole in the glass and on top of his fallen friends.

Near the remains of the dinosaur model, Chloe tried her best to keep the Vivix away from the children. She threw any loose objects that she could find at them but still the creatures kept coming. A couple of the creatures charged and suddenly Chloe was rooted to the ground. She pulled Kristy close to her and waited for the deadly blow. Suddenly a loud battle cry grabbed her attention and a well built man in jeans and red shirt flew overhead. He took out the two attackers quickly, followed by another in quick succession. With the immediately danger over she approached her saviour, "Thank you for saving us", she said.

"Not a problem, I'm Jason Scott by the way", Jason replied, "follow me, I'll lead you somewhere safe".

"Alright Jason", Tyler stated as he watched their mentor lead the children to safety, "we should be good to morph guys", he called out to the others. The three rangers pushed the Vivix back and retrieved their Dinovolvers. They inserted their Energems into the weapons before calling, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", they aimed the blasters at the Vivix fired. The morphing energy disintegrated the footsoldiers and when the light had cleared, the red, blue and pink rangers stood opposite the monster and General Sorrow.

"My precious Vivix", Sorrow cried out, "this _really _makes me sad", black tears began rolling down his metal face.

"Dude are you actually crying", Tyler laughed.

"You'll pay for this rangers", Sorrow shouted before pushing the monster, "don't just stand there Crush, go...well crush them".

"At once General", Crush replied. The monster ran at the rangers and immediately the trio realised this guy was much stronger than the Vivix they had faced so far. Crush raked his claw over the suits of the blue and pink rangers, sending them sprawling to the ground. Tyler ducked the blow that was aimed at him and was able to get a punch in on the monster. The blow didn't affect the monster too much due to its metal body. Crush kicked the red ranger in the stomach and he crashed to the ground next to his team mates.

"Ok that didn't work", Shelby groaned.

"Let's try attacking him at once", Tyler stated, "flying kicks on my cue".

"But I don't know how to do a flying kick", Koda cried.

"It's not that hard, just follow us", Shelby replied. The rangers got to their feet and jumped into the air. They landed the flying kick on the monster, knocking him flat on his back.

As the rangers celebrated the monster slowly got back to his feet, "Think you can beat me like that", he bellowed. He fired an energy beam from his metal staff knocking the rangers off their feet. The beam dislodged large chunks of masonry from the museum and also sent the rangers crashing through the glass. The wind was knocked out of them as they struggled to get back to their feet.

"Really wish I hadn't signed up for this now", Koda grumbled.

"We're not beaten yet", Tyler replied in the brightest tone possible. As he rolled onto his back he heard a chiming noise coming from somewhere. Initially he thought someone had dropped their cell phone but it sounded like it was coming from him.

"Tyler I think your belt buckle is ringing", Shelby coughed out.

The pink ranger was right, it was his belt buckle. He gave it a pull and the yellow box detached from his suit, "Tyler, Koda, Shelby can you hear me", a female voice said from the device.

"Erm yeah", Tyler replied, "two questions though, who are you and why did you phone my belt?"

"My name's Kiera and I invented your Dinovolvers", Kiera replied.

"But you sound like a kid", Koda queried.

"Do you want my help or not?" Kiera snapped, "the belt buckle is also a communication device. It also hold further copies of your Energems". Everyone popped their buckles open and found three more Energems, "If you insert these into your Dinovolvers, you can increase the power of your attacks".

"Alright, thanks Kiera. Whoever you are", Tyler replied and turned off the communicator. Deciding to give it a try they got back to their feet and walked back out to the plaza. Broken glass crunched under their feet with every step.

"Come back for more?" the monster heckled.

"Something like that", Tyler replied and inserted his Energem, "Tyranno Charge".

"Stego Charge", Koda added.

"Tricera Charge", Shelby called out.

"Fire", they called out in unison. The multicoloured beam slammed into the monster, it cried out in pain before it fell to the ground and exploded. The three rangers celebrated with each other but this was a little premature. Several ice crystals flew over their head and slammed into the defeated monster. The ground rumbled and it grew into a giant that towered above them.

"Great not this again", Tyler groaned. He summoned another Energem and threw it into the air, "Come out and play Rex", he called and his zord bounced into action. This time though the Tyranno Zord had brought company, a blue Stegosaurus and a pink Triceratops.

"We have zords too, how awesome is that", Shelby cried and threw an Energem at her zord. Koda did the same with his Stegosaurus and the zords swallowed them eagerly. The three dinosaurs were powerful but the giant Crush was still overpowering them. He ran his claw across the chest of the Tyranno Zord, knocking him to the ground. The Tricera Zord tried to use its tail drill but Crush swatted her away without breaking a sweat.

"He's too strong for them", Koda stated, "wait a sec, other rangers teams could combine their zords".

"What's your point", Tyler said as he dodged some falling rubble.

"Maybe we can form a Megazord of our own", he replied.

"With just the three of us?" Shelby asked.

Tyler shrugged, "It's worth a try", he stated before calling out, "alright guys let's get it together". The Tyranno Zord began to straighten up and it's body twisted at ninety degrees to his legs. His head now formed the right shoulder of the Megazord and his tail the left shoulder. The Stego Zord connected head first to the Tyranno Zord to form the right arm of the Megazord and the Tricera Zord did the same on the other side. A humanoid head appeared at the top of the zord and a yellow helmet slid on top.

The rangers were transported instantly to the cockpit of the zord. Each one of them had a small platform to stand on with a waist high stand on their right. They slotted their Dinovolvers into the hole onto of the stands, "Dino Charge Megazord", Tyler called out, "ready to roar".

Shelby sighed, "Don't say that again, please". The red ranger nodded and the trio began to direct the Megazord. With their zords now combined together, they were now much more powerful than Crush. Using the spines of the Stego Zord they raked the front of Crush, rocking the monster. Turning so the head of the Tyranno Zord was facing Crush, the rangers unleashed a burst of fire at the monster.

"Alright we've got him on the ropes", Koda called out.

"Time to finish this", Shelby added, "Tricera Drill, activate". The drill had much more effective now it was attached to the Megazord. Putting all of their power into the attack, the drill punched a hole in the monster stomach. It had just enough time to register the wound before it collapsed in defeat once again.

"Oh man that was amazing", Tyler punched the air in celebration.

"Can we get out of here", Koda asked the others, "I need to check on Chloe and Kristy". The others nodded and jumped down from the Megazord, sending their new friends back to their hiding places.

_Finchey's Diner_

The rangers tracked down Koda's sister and niece to the diner. When they arrived they saw Jason watching Kristy drawing something on a piece of paper, "Hey old man", Tyler smiled, "where's Chloe?"

"She's just getting cleaned up in the toilets rookie", Jason replied.

"Thanks for saving them Jason", Koda smiled, "I don't know what I would do if something happened to them".

Jason nodded, "Chloe told me", he began, "what happened to her husband. I'm sorry that we couldn't have gotten to him any quicker".

Koda nodded in thanks before deciding to share his story with his new team mates, "Chloe and her husband used to live in Harwood County", he swallowed before continuing, "last year they were caught up in the Armada invasion. The rangers were able to save Chloe and Kristy but they were too late to help Yousaike. He was killed by some enemy footsoliders".

The other bowed their head, "Sorry to hear that man", Tyler stated solemnly.

The blue ranger nodded in thanks, "Now I'll do anything I can to protect them", he added resolutely. Just then his sister reappeared out of the bathroom, she smiled and hugged her brother warmly, before slapping him on the arm, "Oww what was that for?"

"Just what did you think you were doing fighting those things", Chloe cried.

"Sorry sis, it won't happen again", he apologised, the others sniggered behind him.

Chloe sighed before grabbing Kristy, "Come on we'd better get you home, thank you again Jason".

"Not a problem, just glad you're ok", Jason smiled. Kristy jumped down from the table and slid over her drawing to Koda, it was a sketch of the blue ranger. She smiled and waved goodbye to the group.

"This has to be a coincidence right?" Koda asked the others, they just laughed in response as Jason stood up to order a round of drinks.

Unbeknown to the others, Riley was sitting in a booth at the other end of the diner. He had heard the commotion in the city and had tried to help. When he arrived though Tyler, Koda and Shelby and already beaten the monster and were about to form the Megazord. He rolled his Energem between his fingers and stared sadly at it, "They don't need my help", he muttered, "why would anyone need my help". He crouched down and snuck towards the rear entrance to the diner, leaving without saying a word.

_**A/N – **__So the flying shards of ice are my method of enlarging the monsters. Just going back to Kiera's call to the rangers, I'm aware that the rangers have met her in the first two chapters but it would appear that with everything that's gone on in the last few days, they've forgotten. _


	6. Feeling Green

_Chapter 6 – Feeling Green_

_Griffin Farm_

Set away from civilisation on the outskirts of the city was the farm belonging to the Griffin family. There was a medium sized wooden fronted building where the family lived. Dotted amongst the grass and rolling hills were a number of barns. An enclosure containing a few horses was towards the back of the site and attached to this was a rundown wooden building. The sun was barely up but inside this structure, Riley Griffin was already training.

Dressed in a green pair of training pants and a black vest, the latest green ranger stood opposite a dummy made out of straw. He breathed slowly and calmly as he tightened his grip on his katana. Moving swiftly he went through a series of moves that he had practiced numerous times. With a final downward slash, he cut a thin line on the chest of his training dummy.

He paused to take a drink of water, something didn't feel right. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his green Energem. Ever since he was given this, he felt uncomfortable using his usual sword form. Picking up his katana again he changed his grip so he held the blade out to the side. With an animalistic roar she attacked the dummy again. This time he cut straight through the straw, sending the bottom half crashing to the ground below. Riley took a few deep breathes and wondered where that power had suddenly come from.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of clapping from the entrance to the barn. He turned around and saw his older brother Matt standing in the entrance, "You sure showed that pile of straw Riley", he commented sarcastically.

"Piss off Matt I'm not in the mood this morning", Riley spat as he safely put his blade back into his training bag.

"Someone got out on the wrong side of bed this morning", Matt replied, "when are you going to realise that playing around with swords all day isn't going to get you anywhere in life". Matt Griffin was 19 years old and had been working on the farm since graduating high school.

"What about you, how's acting like a western movie reject working out for you?" Riley shook his head and brushed past his brother. He was a few inches taller than his younger brother and today he wore shoulder length blonde hair was tied back and tucked underneath a black cowboy hat.

The two brothers were now walking back towards the main house. Riley was trying to keep as far ahead of his brother as possible, "Times are tough Riley", Matt called out, "instead of swinging that stick of yours at all hours, you could be helping us bring some money into the business".

The green ranger pushed the back door of the house open hard. It slammed into a kitchen top before rebounding shut. He dropped his training bag down on the floor and grabbed something to eat out of the cupboard. Seconds later Matt pushed the door open and spun his brother around to face him, "You may not want to hear this Riley but its time you started focusing on what's important".

"One day my swordsmanship could save people lives", he jabbed his finger towards his brothers face.

Matt though just laughed, "Riley grow up. You accuse me of being a cowboy but all you are is a Samurai wannabe and the last time I checked we're not in ancient Japan". He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm going to pick some stuff up from town, just think about what I said". Matt snatched some keys from the kitchen top and stormed out the house. Riley kicked a chair in frustration and sat down at the kitchen table.

As he rested his head on his arms, he caught sight of his Dinovolver in his kit bag. Retrieving the device he played with it in his hands, opening the barrel and inserting his Energem. His brother was wrong he thought, his skills could save people's lives and he would start doing so today.

Out on the road near to Riley's home, Tyler, Shelby and Koda were heading in his direction in a black convertible four by four, "Are you sure you don't mind us using this?" Koda asked the pink ranger.

"Nah my parents won't notice it's gone", Shelby replied, "we've got so many of these thing anyway".

"It's certainly better than that smelly van of yours", Tyler laughed from the driver's seat.

"There's nothing wrong with my van", Koda exclaimed.

"Koda I hate to break this to you but it smells like the inside of a packet of peanuts", Shelby smiled. The argument was interrupted by the sound of her communicator, retrieving the device she smiled when she saw the caller ID, "Hey Kiera what's happening".

"Hey Shelby just wanted to let you guys know that I've gotten the Dino Cycles working", she replied, "if you insert Energem number 11 into your Dinovolvers it'll summon them to help you".

"Cool thanks a lot", Koda replied.

"Any luck with Riley?" Kiera asked.

Not yet, we're almost at his family's farm though", Tyler answered.

"Kiera when are we gonna meet you face to face", Shelby asked. The young genius had contacted the three on a number of occasions but they hadn't actually met her. Apparently they had forgotten that they had already met her back at the diner.

"Yeah you sound really cute", Tyler smiled.

The sound of stuttering came through the communicator, "Err thanks, we'll meet soon", Kiera said quickly, "ooh look at the time, gotta go".

Shelby slapped the red ranger on the arm, "Well done you've embarrassed the poor girl now". Tyler laughed but he was concentrating on a van coming the other way. Due to the narrow road he slowed down a little to ensure he didn't collide with the vehicle. Suddenly the van was knocked off course by a blast of laser fire. It skidded onto the dirt lining the road and rolled onto its side. Tyler slammed on the brakes and brought the off road vehicle to a sudden halt.

Out of the trees came two monsters, the first was a lion creature with a red body, yellow pants and yellow claws. The second monster had a black and white striped body with two small cages on his shoulders. The cage monster reached into the van and pulled out an unconscious male teenager in a checked shirt, jeans and cowboys boots. The monster shot a beam at the teen and he disappeared into one of the cages. "Well done Cagendor", the lion creature said.

"Thank you General Fury", Cagendor replied, "with a few more prisoners we'll soon have enough anger to aid the Master's recovery".

"Hey you two", Tyler called out as he and the other two rangers ran towards the accident scene.

"I don't have time to play today rangers", Fury replied. He pulled out a multi bladed sword and charged it up with lightning. He swung the blade at the van, causing it to explode. The rangers shielded themselves from the blast and when they looked again, the van, General Fury and Cagendor had disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Shelby asked. Koda though had spotted something in the debris, it was a panel from the van.

"Hey look at this", the blue ranger stated.

The others looked at the panel which read 'Griffin Farm Produce', there was also a battered cowboy hat in the remains, "Whoever that guy was, he must be connected to Riley", Tyler announced, "quickly we need to get to the farm".

Back at the farm, Riley decided to continue training outside the farm's house. He was trying out his new backhanded grip with varying degrees of success. He had paused for a moment to catch his breath when he saw a black off road vehicle speeding up his driveway. He was slightly surprised to see three of his fellow rangers jump out and sprint toward him, "Riley", Shelby called out, "thank God you're here".

The green ranger placed his sword on the ground, "What are you three doing here?" he asked.

"Well we were coming to persuade you to join the team", Tyler replied, "but then we ran into trouble". He handed over Matt's ruined cowboy hat to Riley, "A couple of monsters attacked a van that we think belonged to your family just down the road".

Riley took the hat and his face contorted into a mask of rage, "They've got my brother", he announced, "they're going to pay for this". He reached into his bag and pulled out his Dinovolver, slamming the barrel down in anger.

"Woah cool it", Koda replied, "this is exactly what the Deboss Legion want. We found out that they're collecting human emotions to help bring back their Master".

"How do you want me to react", Riley cried, "they've taken my brother. I might not get along with the jerk but he's still family".

"Keeping a cool head will help you respond better", Tyler replied with a serious tone, "a shaman in Tanzania taught me that one".

Riley took a deep breath to try and control his emotions. He flinched slightly when Shelby placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't forget we're with you all the way", she smiled, "we're a team after all". Riley briefly smiled in response, much to Shelby's pleasure, "I knew it, I knew I would make you smile one day".

Tyler laughed, "Alright let's do this", everyone inserted their Energems into their Dinovolvers, "Dino Spirts, Dino Charge", he called and the rangers pulled the trigger and in a flash of light they had morphed. Tyler opened his belt buckle and pulled out Energem 11, "Kiera said these were working now, let's find out". He threw the gem towards the ground and two small robotic Deinonychus' appeared, one yellow and one black. They surrounded the Energem and formed a motorcycle.

"Awesome wheels", Koda commented as he followed suit, closely followed by Shelby and Riley. "We should catch up with Fury and Cagendor in no time".

"Just one question though", Riley asked as he climbed onto his bike, "Who's Kiera?"

_Hunston Quarry_

General Fury placed his arms onto Cagendor and his body began to glow a vibrant red colour, "I can feel it", he called out, "the rage of the people you have captured and the anger of their families". He let go of the monster, "the Master will reward you greatly when he returns".

"I don't think so", Tyler called out as he Dino Cycle flew through the air. It crashed into the two monsters and sent them sprawling across the dirt. Closely behind the red ranger were the other three rangers on their Dino Cycles. They dismounted their bikes and marched towards the fallen monsters.

"I want my brother back", Riley called out. He summoned a yellow bladed sword, his Dino Blade, into his hand and pointed it at the monster.

General Fury rose to his feet and looked at the green ranger, "Strange, we have your brother and yet I don't feel any anger from you".

Behind his helmet the green ranger smiled, "That's because I know I'm going to get him back". He charged at the still fallen Cagendor and slammed his blade into the cages on his shoulder. They broke open and several balls of light flew into the air. One of them landed on the quarry floor, it was Riley's older brother. The green ranger ran over to his brother to check him over. He was relieved to see that he was still alive.

"Curse you rangers", Fury cried out and fired off a lightning blast from his sword. The rangers rolled out the way and Riley covered his brother's body to protect him.

"Koda can you move him somewhere safe", Riley called out to the blue ranger, "I've got a score to settle". The blue ranger nodded and picked up Matt's body and moved him away from the battle. Riley pulled out another Energem and placed it into his sword. The blade pulsed with green energy and he charged into battle against General Fury.

The lion creature blocked Riley's first blow and responded by jabbing his sword at the green ranger. Riley rolled out the way and used his unusual backhand grip to slash Fury across the legs. Fury roared in pain and fired off another lightning blast at the green ranger. Riley swung his blade in an upwards direction and the energy flew either side of him. The General snorted and backed away, "We'll finish this another day green ranger", he snarled and teleported away.

"Good job Riley", Tyler called out, "now give us a hand with this guy". The other rangers were battling Cagendor but the monster was moving too quickly to hit with their Dinovolvers.

"Time to cut you down to size", Riley called out and fully charged his sword, "Raptor Slash", he cried and send a wave of green energy at the monster. Cagendor didn't have time to move and was knocked backward by the energy blast. The other rangers used this opportunity to load their Energems into their Dinovolvers. With a powerful blast from the remaining three rangers, Cagendor fell to the ground and exploded.

"Riley", Koda began, "you're brothers over by the trees, I think we should get him to a hospital as soon as possible". The green ranger agreed and the team climbed on to their Dino Cycles, with Matt supported by Riley and sped off to the local hospital.

_Hunston Valley Town Square_

After dropping Matt off at the ER, the red, blue and pink rangers waited in the town square for further news. About an hour later Riley arrived with some good news, "He's not suffered any serious injuries", he began, "they're keeping him in overnight but he should be back home tomorrow". Riley smiled briefly, "He couldn't believe that a sword wielding ranger had saved him and he apologised for our argument earlier today".

Tyler smiled in response, "That's great news. You know Riley you're a good fighter, it'll be a shame to make today's battle a one time deal". He extended his hand to the green ranger, "What do you say?"

Riley thought about this for a moment and took the red rangers hand, "Only because all of you need to work on using your blades in battle", he laughed. Shelby and Koda placed their hands on top of their two fellow rangers and smiled.

Behind a statue that stood on the corner of the square, Chase looked at the scene and scoffed, "You'll never catch me doing that", he muttered to himself. He reached under his grey t-shirt and pulled out a necklace that had two sets of dog tags on it. He touched the cool metal lightly and sighed, "Good thing I always work alone", he then tucked the tags back inside his shirt. He grabbed his leather jacket off the ground and swung it over his shoulder before walking away.


	7. The Black Parade

_Chapter 7 – The Black Parade_

_Hunston Industrial District_

From his vantage point on the roof of a warehouse, Chase Randall could see for a least a mile in each direction. To the west of his current location was the Pacific ocean, to the north were vast green fields and to the south was Hunston city centre. The black ranger though was more concerned about what was happening slightly to the east of his vantage point. He had a clear slight of his fellow rangers battle against another monster and if he was honest, they weren't doing very well.

The monster in question had the appearance of a raven but with the addition of a vault door in his chest. From what he had been able to pick up from the voices below, the monster was stealing from people and storing the items in his chest. Chase winced slightly as he saw the red and green rangers thrown into the side of a warehouse by a bladed attack from the monster. The creature then used his cape to shield himself from an attack by the blue and pink ranger. He responded by firing out black tendricles from under the cape. These wrapped around the rangers and hurled them into their fallen comrades.

The monster obviously decided he was done punishing the rangers enough and disappeared. He saw the group of ranger's power down and began to walk in his direction. Instinctively he crouched down so they couldn't see him, "Man that seriously sucked", he heard Shelby say.

"I don't even remember the last time I was in so much pain", Riley added as he stretched out his limbs.

"Guys we need to stay positive", Tyler began, "what about that new powerful weapon Jason mentioned".

"Yeah but we need Chase for that", Koda replied, "and no one's seen him since the day we got our powers". Chase smirked, at least his combat stealth abilities hadn't gotten rusty in the last few months.

"Let's regroup at the lab", Tyler stated, "maybe the old man's got something for us". Chase watched as the group trudged underneath him and back towards the main road. He was about to rise from his crouch but Tyler stopped and looked in his general direction. After a few moments the red ranger shrugged and caught up with the rest of his team.

"So they have a powerful weapon", Chase thought, "maybe I should acquire this for myself". He sighed and briefly thought about catching up to the rangers and offering his services. He quickly rejected that idea, "Remember the promise you made to yourself. Relying on yourself prevents you from getting hurt again", he repeated this mantra a couple of times as he climbed down from the roof. He jumped into his parked van and sped away from the scene.

_Scott Residence_

Chase crouched behind the hedge outside Jason's home and quickly scanned over the property. He breathed a sigh of relief as he couldn't see any lights on. He checked his watch again and shook his head, he couldn't remember the last time he had done a mission at 4am. Quietly walking up the driveway, he approached the front door. He reached into his pocket for a couple of hairpins but more out of hope than anything, he tried the door knob anyway. To his surprise it opened straight away.

Not quite believing his luck, Chase crept into the house and had a look downstairs. There was no sign of anything relating to the Dino Charge rangers on display. The black ranger thought for a moment and realised Jason wouldn't leave something like that lying around. He would hide it as far away from the main entrance as he possibly could.

Chase walked slowly up a couple of flights of stairs until he was on the top floor of the mansion. He spotted a light from under a door at the far end of the hallway. Walking up to the door, he noticed that it had the same symbols as the ranger's uniforms. Weirdly though it didn't have a door knob so he couldn't pick the lock. Under his jacket he noticed that his Dinovolver was glowing. Raising the device up to the door, he was suddenly teleported into the lab.

Keeping the weapon raised, he slowly walking towards an illuminated panel at the far end of the room. When he got closer he realised that it was full of Energems. Almost instinctively he picked up an Energem with the number 13 on it, "Heh unlucky for some", he muttered.

He was about to place the gem in his pocket when he suddenly felt a cold blade just under his chin, "It's called the Dino Lance", he heard Jason's voice say. The lights in the lab turned on and the original red ranger had a long bladed sword with a red hilt pressed up against his neck. He lowered the sword and shook his head, "Never had a fellow ranger try to steal from me before", he continued.

Chase snorted, "Well maybe I'm not much of a ranger". He turned around only to find the rest of the team pointing their Dinovolvers in his direction. He sighed, "How did you know I would turn up tonight?"

"Simple, I saw you on the roof", Tyler replied.

"You couldn't come a little sooner though", Riley grumbled, "we've been awake all night".

The black ranger shook his head, "There's a reason it's called a dawn raid Farm Boy", he replied with a smile, much to the annoyance of the green ranger.

"Well since you already have the gem I'm going to let you have it", Jason began, "on one condition, you officially join the team".

Chase thought about this for a moment before reaching into his pocket. He handed the Energem back to Chase, "I don't think it's worth it, having me on your team", he replied solemnly.

"Will you stop being such an asshole", Shelby cried out, "give us one good reason for not joining us".

"You don't know the first thing about me", Chase roared, "you don't know the things I've seen", he sat down on a workbench and hung his head.

Cautiously the other rangers approached him, "So tell us", Koda began, "please", he added softly.

Chase sighed and shook his head, "I was in the Army, a sniper to be exact, and I was a damn good one", he paused before continuing, "until one day..."

_Flashback – Helmand Province, Afghanistan (10 months ago)_

"_Private Randall", a voice called out. Chase turned around and saw is best friend Jeremy Quinn. A tall and powerfully built young man, he was fully suited up and ready for battle. "Good to see that you've got my back today". Chase and Jeremy had been friends since grade school. They had signed up together straight out of High School and had served together since. _

_Chase smiled, "Just following orders Private Quinn", he replied. _

_Jeremy reached into his jacket and pulled out a picture of an attractive looking blonde woman, "Keep hold of this for me", he stated. Chase looked confused so he continued, "It'll make sure I come back in one piece, knowing that I have something to come back to"._

"_Wish I could get me someone like this", Chase replied, tucking the picture into his pocket._

"_Don't be getting any ideas private", Jeremy smiled, "just remember what I taught you and soon all the chicks will be falling at your feet". They said goodbye to each other, not knowing that it would be the last time they would talk._

_Chase had been positioned on a hill overlooking a small Afghan village. They weren't expecting any trouble but it was always best to take precautions. Chase had been under the sun for several hours when he saw something glinting in the sun on a nearby hill. Turning his scope in that direction, he suddenly saw an enemy sniper taking aim at his troops below._

_Knowing that he probably only had one shot, Chase took aim and fired. His shot echoed through the valley, quickly followed by another gun shot. He looked through the scope and didn't see the other sniper and initially believed that he had been killed. All of a sudden he heard cried from down below asking for a medic. The enemy sniper had gotten off a shot and had severely injured one of his platoon. _

_Looking in his binoculars, Chase's heart stopped, the soldier who had been shot was Jeremy. He took a closer look and saw the bullet hole in the center of his forehead. Swinging his gaze over to the enemy snipers location, his blood ran cold when he saw his target walking away from the scene. He had missed and failed to prevent the death of his best friend. Chase through his binoculars down and let out a loud cry of anguish. _

_Present Day_

"And that's my story", Chase stated, "since that day I've promised never to let myself get as close to anyone as I did Jeremy".

"In case something happens to them", Shelby added. The black ranger nodded in response.

Tyler took a seat next to Chase, "Look man I'm not going to pretend to know what you when through. I will say this, would Jeremy want you to isolate yourself?" Chase pulled out his dog tags and gazed at them for a moment.

"And I don't think he'd want you to miss an opportunity to save the world", Riley added.

The black ranger sniffed back a couple of stray tears, "I can't promise you that we'll all make it out of this in one piece", Tyler began, "but I can promise you that I'm going to do my very best to protect each of you". He extended his hand to Chase, "what do you say?" Chase gave him a weak smile and shook his hand.

Jason smiled, the team was finally together. He looked at a nearby monitor and his eyes widened, "Sorry to break up this moment but Ravault is back in the city".

"Now?" Koda groaned, "it's 4:30 in the morning".

"Sorry monsters don't keep a nine to five schedule", Jason replied. He picked up the Dino Lance Energem and through it to Chase, "Put that to good use". Chase nodded and followed the rest of the team out of the lab.

_Hunston Valley Square_

Ravault wondered slowly around the city square, night time was the best time to steal from the humans as no one was around to try and stop him. He tried to summon a child's teddy from a nearby apartment but it was plucked out of the air. "You know it's wrong to steal", Tyler stated, shaking the bear at the monster.

"Well well, back for round two rangers", Ravault chuckled.

"They've got some extra help this time", Chase called back, twirling his Dinovolver around his finger.

"There five of you now!" the monster exclaimed.

"Damn right there is", Tyler began, "and we're going to show you what the power of a complete ranger team". The five rangers inserted their respective Energems into their morphers, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", he called. In a flash of light the rangers morphed and stood ready for battle, "Let's armor up everyone", he called. The rangers rolled their Dinovolvers down their right arms and a metal plate appeared on the limb. In their hand was their hand held personal weapon with a crest relating to their respective dinosaur.

"Tricera Drill", Shelby called. The pink and silver hand held drill tore a hole into the monsters body.

"Raptor Claw", Riley's weapon had one large central blade and two smaller one's either side of the main one. He sliced across the monsters chest a couple of times before clearing the way for the next ranger.

"Stego Shield", Koda's dino crest doubled as a shield but also a bladed weapon. He threw the shield at the monster, staggering the raven.

"Para Blaster", Chase was pleased that his weapon was something he was familiar with. Firing black and purple energy blasts at the monster, he saw that the vault door was beginning to weaken.

"Tyranno Fang", Tyler's weapon was a red Tyrannosaurus head that fitted over his hand. Powering the weapon up with all his energy, he slammed it into the vault door. It burst open and released everything the monster had stolen.

"My precious collectables", Ravault whined.

"Time to see what this does", Chase called out. He through the Dino Lance Energem into the air and it lengthened into a long metal pole. The rangers weapons stacked onto the pole until there was one giant lance. Tyler grabbed the weapon out of the air and drove it into the monster. It cried out in pain before collapsing to the ground.

"Oh yeah we get a team weapon", Koda cried, "this is fantastic".

"What are you some kind of ranger nerd?" Chase laughed. The celebration was spoiled when the familiar ice crystals flew overhead. They hit the fallen monster and he grew to giant size, "Great I wish they didn't to this". The monster was about to crush the rangers when it was hit by several purple energy blasts. A green streak of light flew past them and cut into the monster.

"Looks like you're zords have awoken", Shelby commented to the black and green rangers. Roaring with pride were two robotic dinosaurs, a black Parasaurolophus and a green Velociraptor. The Para Zord used its tail as a blaster whilst the Raptor Zord used it's a giant blade.

"Fancy your first ride in a Megazord?" Tyler asked. He pulled out an Energem and threw it into the sky, summoning the Tyranno Zord. Chase and Riley did the same and their zords swallowed their gems. The Raptor and Para Zords took their place as the left and right arm of the Megazord respectively, "Dino Artillery Megazord, online", Tyler called out. For the first time all the rangers were in the cockpit of the Megazord.

Chase pulled his Dinovolver out of the pedestal and called, "Para Shot" and pulled the trigger. His actions were duplicated by the Megazord and it unleashed a powerful blast at the monster.

"Raptor Slash", Riley sliced his arm through the air and the left arm of the Megazord did the same. Ravault was staggered by the attack but still be kept coming. He used his shadow blade attack against the main body of the Megazord. The rangers were rocked and struggled to stay on their feet.

"We still need more power", Shelby cried as she held onto her pedestal.

"The original Megazord had a sword of its own to use", Koda stated, "I remember seeing it in action a few times".

"Maybe we do as well", Tyler thought out loud, "everyone concentrate on your dino spirit". The rangers concentrated as hard as they could on a singular weapon for the Megazord. Suddenly the Para Zord disconnected and was replaced by the Stego Zord. The yellow spines on the zord merged to form on giant yellow bladed sword.

"Nice", Koda smiled, "well done Steggy", he called out.

Chase snorted, "You named your zord".

"Well they're sentient beings", Shelby replied, "it would be rude not to".

"Can we talk about this later", Tyler called out in his best leader voice, "Alright everyone, Dino Final Strike". The air around the sword crackled with electricity and it swung in the direction of Ravault. It cut through the raven monster and he slowly fell to the floor. He exploded when he made contact with the ground.

"That was awesome", Chase called out, letting his mask of cool indifference slip, "I mean, I knew we would win".

Tyler shook his head, "Don't worry your secret is safe with us". He looked outside and saw the sun beginning to rise, "Alright I think it's breakfast time don't you", he said to the other rangers. They agreed with him and disassembled the Megazord. Calling on their Dino Cycles the team raced back to Jason's place in a buoyant mood. The team was finally together and the Legion of Deboss wouldn't know what hit them.


	8. Revelations

_Chapter 8 – Revelations_

_Scott Residence_

In her room Kiera had heard the rangers leave for their latest battle at least a couple of hours ago. It was now 6:30am but she had been awake most of the night. She was sat on her bed with a picture in her hand. Every time she looked at the image, fresh tears rolled down her face. It was a picture of her real parents and today was thirteen years to the day that she was given up for adoption. She was only four years old at the time but she still remembered everything about that day.

Jason bounced up the stairs from the kitchen and headed toward Kiera's room. The team had just returned from their first successful mission as a five piece and they wanted to meet the person who had been nagging them through their communicators. Jason had just told them that the voice belonged to his daughter. Apparently they had all forgotten that they had already met her at the diner during the first Vivix attack.

He arrived at her door and was surprised to see it slightly ajar. He pushed it open slightly and saw his adopted daughter sat up on her bed looking a picture frame. She had tears rolling down her face and it looked like she hadn't slept all night. Jason was about to burst in when he remember what day it was, it was the day that Kiera's parents had given her up for adoption. Jason took a step back from the door and sighed, he remembered every detail of those few days extremely well. The day that Kiera Cranston came into his life.

_Flashback – 2002_

_As the red rangers watched Tommy walk across the tarmac at the NASADA base, they soon began boasting about their various achievements. They had just returned from destroying Serpenterra and spirits were high, "Hey did I ever tell you about the time I got baked into a giant pizza?" TJ Johnson, the Red Turbo Ranger, asked the group._

_Everyone groaned, "TJ it was the only story I heard when we were team mates", Andros laughed, "you told the story at mine and Ash's wedding", deflated TJ mumbled something under his breath. _

"_If you want embarrassing stories, how about the time my buddy here was dressed in nothing but a loin cloth", Wes Collins smiled as he through his arm around Eric Myers. _

_The Quantum Ranger through the arm off, "Oh yeah, how about I tell them one of them many cringworthy stories involving you and Jen", Eric smiled. _

"_Now this I've got to hear", Leo Corbett laughed, "tell me more", he added and dragged Eric away from the group. The Red Time Force ranger chased after them yelling various obscenities. _

_Jason hung back and laughed at the scene in front of him. He was about to run off after his fellow red rangers when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He turned around and looked straight into the eyes of the Red Alien Ranger, "Hey Aurico", he began, "fully rehydrated?"_

"_I am thank you Jason", Aurico replied, "I need to tell you something important". Jason stiffened, he knew this wasn't going to be good news, "It's about Billy"._

"_What's happened to Billy?" Jason said._

_Aurico shook his head, "Nothing has happened to him, he wants to speak with you in person, on Aquitar". _

_Jason was a little surprised, he hadn't heard much from Billy since he left to live on Aquitar. Not surprising since he was now on the other side of the galaxy. If Billy wanted to see him in person then it must be important, "Alright I'm on leave for the next couple of weeks anyway". _

_The red alien ranger nodded, "I am sure he will appreciate this. Andros is taking me back to Aquitar, I am sure he will give you a lift". _

"_Do you know what this is about?" Jason asked._

"_I am afraid it is not my place to say", Aurico replied and left to catch up with the other red rangers, leaving a very confused Jason standing by himself on the runway. _

_The next day, the Astro Megaship took Aurico and Jason to Aquitar. Other than the Moon, Jason had only set foot on one other alien world and that was the deserted planet where they found the Sword of Light. As the Megaship descended through the atmosphere, the first thing Jason noticed was that there were very few land masses on the planet. Just underneath the surface of the water, he could see patches of bright lights, indicating where the major cities were. _

_The Megaship landed on a small docking pad on the surface of the water. There was a medium sized glass fronted building on the pad but nothing further above the surface, "We can use this to get to the city below", Aurico said to Jason as they crossed the pad towards the building. _

"_Is everything underneath the ocean?" Jason asked. _

_Aurico nodded, "Aquitian's very rarely come to the surface. Contrary to popular beliefs we do need to breath oxygen but only after a week or so. A well trained Aquitian could go as long as three weeks without needing oxygen". As the elevator descended towards the city, Jason gazed in awe at the alien world. It looked very similar to any major on Earth, except it was entirely under water. There were neon advertising boards on a couple of street corners and the 'roads' were packed with personal submarines that Jason assumed were the equivalent of cars. _

_The elevator reached its destination and the doors opened into a brightly lid reception room. Unlike other rooms on the planet, this one was dry. The roof above Jason was clear so he could see out into the ocean. The room itself was quite small with just a couple of chairs and an airlock at the other end that led into the underwater city. Inside the room were two familiar faces, both dressed in loose fitting blue robes. The first was a female Aquitian with long brown hair and a white shirt under her jump suit. The other was a human male with brown hair, "Billy, it's been a while", Jason smiled and hugged his friend. _

"_Too long Jason", Billy replied. _

_Jason released his friend and turned to the female, "Delphine, you're looking well", he bowed to the leader of the Alien Rangers. To his surprise, Delphine gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek._

"_You're looking well too Jason Lee Scott", she replied, "and back in red too I see". _

"_I just can't get away from the power I guess", Jason smiled, "I see Billy has been teaching you about Earth greetings"._

_Delphine nodded, "I'm getting better but I still have much to learn". She bowed to Jason, "Forgive me but I must take my leave". She took hold of Aurico's arm and left the two friends alone in the room. _

"_I assume this isn't a social call", Jason said to Billy. _

_The former blue ranger shook his head, "I have a huge request", he pulled out a picture from his robes and showed it to Jason. It was a picture of a girl, no older than four years old, "Cestria and I were married a few years ago", he paused before continuing, "and that's my daughter". _

_Jason's jaw dropped, one of his best friends was married and had a daughter, "Congratulations bro", he shook Billy's hand, "I don't mean to sound rude but he looks very human". _

"_That's because she is", Billy sighed, "no one thought that a Human and an Aquitian could have children together so it was a bit of a surprise to us. Unfortunately other than being a good swimmer and the ability to hold a breath for a long time under water, she's completely human. And on Aquitiar that's a big problem". _

_The red ranger couldn't disagree with that but then a thought occurred to him, "But you're human and you've been here for five or six years". _

_Billy nodded, "The elixir they gave me to cure my aging problem had a side effect, basically it turns my physiology into an Aquitian. Like them I have to rehydrate periodically if I'm out of water. I have to take oxygen once a day but other than that, I'm more like an Aquitian than a Human now". Billy didn't give Jason a huge amount of time to process that piece of information before he continued, "My daughter can't live on the planet Jason. She has to live in a special oxygen room and has to wear an oxygen tank to go to school. We've come to the difficult decision that she needs to live on Earth if she's going to have a proper life". _

_Jason's attention was grabbed by the sound of a groaning from a chair that was facing away from him. A small girl poked their head over the top of the chair before crossing the room. She grabbed hold of Billy's leg and hid behind him, "Jason I want you to meet my daughter, Kiera". The girl didn't say anything and stayed behind Billy, "She's a little shy", he smiled, "Jason I want you to adopt Kiera", he blurted out._

"_Me?" Jason exclaimed, "I don't know anything about children"._

"_Please Jason of all of my friends you're the best choice", Billy pleaded. "I know Trini's heavily into politics now, Zack's got his dance academy and Kim's coaching gymnastics. I would ask Tommy but know him he'll probably end up a ranger again". _

_Jason sighed, "Alright I'll do it". They talked a little bit more after that before Jason took hold of a reluctant Kiera and said goodbye to her father. Kiera had cried all the way during their journey back to Earth in the Megaship. That was the last time either of them had seen Billy. _

_Present Day_

Jason was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of screaming from downstairs. This had also gotten Kiera's attention as well as she burst from her room with a spare Dinovolver in hand. The pair ran downstairs and into the front room where they were greeted by a strange sight. The rangers were at one end of the room and at the other was an eagle creature with blue feathers and a red beak. He was wearing a white jacket and had a pair of wings protruding from his back. The rangers all had their weapons pointed at the eagle creature.

Jason and Kiera slowly made their way over to the other, keeping their eyes on their monster at all times. "Hey you must be Kiera", Shelby said to the younger girl, "good to meet you again".

"T-thanks", Kiera stammered, "who's this guy?"

"No idea", Chase replied, "he just appeared in the room and that's when Farm Boy over here squealed like a piggy".

"I did not squeal", Riley cried.

"Nice shirt by the way", Tyler smiled and gave Kiera a nudge. She suddenly became very aware that she had run out of bed without changing out of her pyjamas. She blushed, this wasn't the way she wanted to introduce herself to the team.

"Forgive the intrusion", the creature began, "I mean you no harm", he was speaking with a very pronounced British accent.

He began to move towards the team and Chase responded by clicking his Dinovolver into blast mode, "Don't come any closer".

The creature laughed, "Feel free to shoot me, it won't make any difference. You see I'm already dead".

"How can you be dead?" Koda asked, "we can see you".

"If you would lower your weapon's then I will explain", the team did as they were asked but they were still on guard. "Thank you, my name is Torin", the creature replied, "I am the one responsible for creating the Energems 65 million years ago". Almost on cue the rangers Energems began to glow brightly in their pockets

Whether it was the Energems reacting to Torin's presence or something about the way he spoke, the rangers believed him. "My story begins with the Legion of Deboss. I was once a member or that order but I disagreed with a number of their philosophies. When I left the Legion I vowed to protect the Earth in any way possible". He saw the Energem in Tyler's hand, "May I?"

The red ranger handed his gem over to Torin cautiously, "As you know dinosaurs were the dominant species at the time. 22 of their kind volunteered to have their spirits stored inside these Energems. The creatures you summon now are sentient robotic versions of those original dinosaurs".

"If you're dead, how are you still here?" Riley asked.

Torin laughed, "I am a spirit", he replied. "As with most stories of this kind there was an epic battle. The Legion of Deboss was defeated but a lot was lost that day, including my own life. As the Legion was not completely defeated, I've roamed the spirit world, returning only to offer guidance to those who oppose the Deboss". Suddenly he clutched his chest and looked like he was struggling to breathe.

"Are you alright?" Shelby asked.

"No", Torin choked, "I can't stay in the realm of the living for too long so I will make this quick. You have unlocked the powers of five of the zords but there are still five to find. Only with the power of all the Energems can you hope to defeat the Legion of Deboss". He pulled something out of his jacket and placed it on the sofa. "This will tell you everything you need to know about the five missing guardians", he sank to his knees, "I must go", with that he disappeared.

"Ok that was strange", Chase said.

Jason picked up the loose pieces of parchment from the sofa and handed them to Kiera, "Up for a little bit of research?" he asked.

"Sure", she smiled, "but can I get dressed first", he muttered with embarrassment before quickly darting out of the front room, much to the amusement of the others.

A couple of hours later, Kiera had changed into a pair of jeans and a purple shirt and relocated to her lab. She had studied the parchment that Torin had left behind and they confirmed everything he said. They also confirmed that there were still five other zords out there, the Ptera Zord, the Anklyo Zord, the Packy Zord, the Plesio Zord and finally the Titano Zord.

The doors to the lab opened as Jason and the others stepped inside, "Hey Kiera any news?" Shelby asked.

"Well it confirms everything Torin said", she began, "doesn't tell us how to find the missing zords though".

"Sometime I really wish it was that easy", Jason sighed.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out", Tyler smiled, much to her embarrassment, "oh I have good news, we're going to be roomies".

"What!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah the old man explained that he wanted to rent out a couple of rooms", the red ranger replied. "Since Chase and I don't have anywhere permanent to live, we're moving in". He turned towards the door, "That reminds me, I need to go pack", in a blur of red he teleported out of the lab.

"Hey Tyler we haven't confirmed anything yet", Jason cried out and set off after the red ranger.

"Well this is going to end well", Kiera stated sarcastically.

Shelby laughed, "I think we're going to get on just fine Kiera", the younger girl smiled, her first real friend.

"Hey where's Chase?" Kiera asked, only just noticing that the black ranger wasn't present.

"Dunno maybe he's gone to pack as well", Riley replied.

The black ranger wasn't packing though, instead he was driving his battered old car through the streets of the city. His cell phone was on the dashboard and he was speaking to someone through speakerphone, "That's all I know Sir, I can't report anything else at this stage", Chase said.

"Are you sure no one suspects your involvement?" a male voice asked through the phone.

Chase paused before giving his answer, "No Sergeant, no one suspects a thing". He terminated the call and continued his drive towards his temporary accommodation.

_**A/N – **__So that's the end of the introductions, all the major players are now set. So who thought that Kiera was Billy's daughter? It was that idea that sparked off this entire story, everything else has been built around that initial thought. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far, please keep them coming. _


	9. The Odd Couple (Part 1)

_Chapter 9 – The Odd Couple (Part 1)_

_Dino Mansion (Formerly the Scott Residence)_

It was a bright and sunny morning and the rangers had gathered in the backyard of Jason's house. With Tyler and Chase now renting rooms from the original red ranger, the current red ranger had given the house the nickname 'The Dino Mansion'. Everyone had laughed to begin with but over the last few days the name had stuck. The backyard had been cleared of all the weeds and a decent sized garden was uncovered.

Tyler had decided that the team needed to bond and to help, he had organised a few team building exercises. The one on today's agenda was a kick about with an old soccer ball he had found in the garage. Koda and Riley were a little reluctant, the green ranger told everyone that he wasn't a great soccer player, whereas the blue ranger said he had never played the game in his life. So the team building exercise had turned into Tyler and Chase passing the ball between each other.

Shelby and Kiera were relaxing on a couple of plastic chairs and watched the boys attempt to play the game. The pink ranger had really gotten the young genius to open up over the last few days. She was still a little nervous around the boys but that all changed during a monster attack. She had no trouble shouting at them when they damaged some of her precious equipment. Kiera was still reluctant to share details about her parents. She was still easing into the idea of friendship and was a little worried that telling everyone she was a Human/Aquitian hybrid born on another planet might scare them off.

The pink ranger took a sip of her water and shook her head at the antics of Tyler. He was showing off with his usual childish enthusiasm, "Do you think Tyler's a little childish?" she asked her younger friend.

Kiera shrugged, "A little but you can't deny his spirit is infectious. Does it bother you?" she replied.

Shelby didn't answer initially and thought about her response for a few moments, "I just wish he'd take things seriously. It's like he's a giant man-child".

"I've got a theory about that", Kiera began and tilted her head, "he's never really had anything bad happen to him growing up. For example Chase lost his best friend and Koda gave up his ambitions to help his sister. They were shaped by those events into the people in front of us. From what Tyler's told us he's basically been on one massive holiday since the day he was born. He probably doesn't even know how to deal with failure and rejection".

"That's very deep", Shelby replied, slightly stunned at the eloquent explanation, "ever thought about becoming a psychologist?"

Kiera laughed, "That would involve talking to strange people. In case you haven't noticed I'm not very good at that". They continued to watch the boys in silence for a few more minutes until Kiera spoke up again, "Why aren't you out there playing soccer?" she asked.

"Are you kidding", Shelby smiled, "I would totally show them up". Kiera raised a quizzical eyebrow at the pink ranger, "I'm the daughter of a pro athlete, some of his skills rubbed off on me, even if he doesn't know it". She stood up and took off her expensive looking watch and passed it to the younger girl, "Watch this", she smirked.

Tyler was dribbling around the others with a broad smile on his face. Just when he thought he had beaten everyone, he suddenly came face to face with the pink ranger. He tried to dummy around her but Shelby stood ground. As the red ranger approached, she executed a perfectly timed sliding tackle. The ball rolled away from Tyler and he crashed to the ground on top of the pink ranger. He looked a little stunned that she had gotten the best of him, "Erm Tyler", Shelby began, "you can get off me now". The red ranger mumbled something under his breath and stood up, his face blushing a bright shade of red.

From her vantage point Kiera laughed at the antics of the red and pink rangers. Just then Jason appeared from the house with Kiera's tablet in hand, "Kiera your tablet's making a strange buzzing noise", he said and handed the device to his adopted daughter. She took one look at the tablet and broke out into a broad smile.

"It's a tracking program I created", she began, "it's managed to locate one of the lost zords".

"That's fantastic", Jason replied, "do you know which one?"

"According to the readings, it matches the description of the Anklyo Zord", she replied. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the tablet again, "Strange, its signal keeps appearing then vanishing again".

"Then we've got no time to lose", Jason said and put his fingers into his mouth. He whistled loudly to grab the attention of the rangers, who drudged slowly over to the original red ranger.

"Trouble in the city boss?" Chase asked.

"Not yet", Jason replied, "we've been able to track the location of the Anklyo Zord but its movements are very erratic. I'm going to send a couple of you to track it down".

"No problem old man", Tyler began, "who's coming with me?"

Jason was about to pick someone when an idea came into his head. He had noticed that the black and green rangers weren't really getting along with each other. This gave him an idea, "You're not going Tyler, we'll need you and the Tyranno Zord if there's trouble in the city". The red ranger looked a little disappointed but nodded in agreement, "Riley, Chase I want you to find the Anklyo Zord".

"Me, work together with him", Riley pointed at the black ranger, "I don't think so".

"What wrong with me, Farm Boy?" Chase shot back.

"Everything", Riley through his hands in the air, "you're rude, arrogant and condescending towards people. Especially me".

"Well you're hardly a barrel of sunshine either kid", Chase snorted, "would it kill you to crack a smile once in a while".

"I am not a kid!" Riley roared.

"Alright that's enough", Jason barked, "I've made my decision". Riley shook his head and barged past the black ranger. To his credit Chase didn't rise to the bait and simply shrugged his shoulders. He followed closely behind the green ranger.

Once they had left Koda turned to the original red ranger, "I don't want to question your judgement but are you sure sending them was the best idea. I mean they really hate each other".

"Like it or not, they're both on this team", Jason replied, "even if they don't like each other, I want them to show some respect to one another".

"I get that", Tyler began, "but if they mess this up, we could lose the Anklyo Zord".

Jason sighed, "When I was a ranger, I had difficulty working alongside another ranger. Tommy and I used to always try and one up each other".

Kiera giggled, "What colour was Uncle Tommy at this point?"

"Green", Jason smiled, "that reminds me, I'd better keep him away from here. Otherwise he'll end up with another colour to add to his collection". He paused to laughed at the private joke, "Anyway our mentor at the time sent us both off to retrieve some important weapons. By forcing us to work together, we learned to trust and respect each other. Since that day Tommy's been my best friend".

"That might have worked for you and Uncle Tommy", Kiera began, "but Chase and Riley are like oil and water. I don't think they'll ever get along". The others nodded but for the sake of the team, they hoped she was wrong.

_The forest_

The black and green ranger had been directed towards a forest a couple of miles outside the city. The tall trees blocked much of the light from the sun so if gave the forest an eerie feeling. Chase held his communicator up in front of him and was directing his younger team mate towards the last known location of the Anklyo Zord. Riley huffed as Chase made them change course for what felt the hundredth time, "Are you sure you know where you're going?" he asked.

"Did basic orienteering during my army training Farm Boy", Chase replied, "much more advanced than the stuff they taught you in the Boy Scouts".

"See you're doing it again", Riley whined.

Chase laughed, "It's so easy to wind you up Farm Boy".

"And stop calling me that", Riley shot back, "it's insulting".

"You live on a farm don't you", Chase smirked, "and you're not eighteen yet. So technically it's an accurate statement".

"Not the way you say it", Riley began but he was interrupted when Chase placed his hand in front of his mouth. "Great that's real mature of you".

"Quiet", Chase barked, "do you hear that?" Riley let his annoyance towards the black ranger go and listened closely. He could hear a faint rumbling coming from underneath his feet. The pair took a couple of steps back as the sound was coming much closer. Suddenly they were showered by rocks and dirt as something burst out of the ground. After shielding themselves from the falling debris, they turned around and caught sight of the Anklyo Zord. It was light blue in colour with silver spines on its back. Its tail was a giant silver and light blue hammer.

"That's awesome", Chase stated and moved towards the zord. "Hey big fella, we've been looking for you". The Anklyo Zord turned towards the black ranger and roared. Without warning it swung its hammer toward Chase. The black ranger was rooted to the spot in fear but before he was crushed, Riley jumped through the air and pushed him out of the way. The hammer smashed into the ground at the exact spot where Chase had been standing.

Still stunned, Chase didn't know what to say to his younger team mate. Riley dusted himself down and helped Chase to his feet, "You owe me", he said simply before turning towards the Anklyo Zord. "I don't understand why it attacked us".

"That would be my doing", a deep voice boomed. A monster stepped onto the head of the Anklyo Zord, he had a green body with red accents. His face was covered with a white gas mask and on his head were two red horns. In his hand was a red weapon in the shape of a trident. "I am Disciple Virus, one of the three great plagues of the Deboss".

"What did you do to the Anklyo Zord?" Riley called out.

"What I do best", Virus replied, "I've infected the beast so it only obeys my commands now". He tapped his trident on the head of the zord, "Attack".

The Anklyo Zord prepared his hammer again but before he could attack, a figure appeared in front of the rangers. It was a man with olive skin and waist length black hair. He had a small goatee beard and a steely look in his dark eyes. He was dressed in a white robe that went down to his knees. Protecting his chest was a light blue piece of armour. "Anky, stop this madness", the man called out with a thick Spanish accent.

The Zord stopped what he was doing and looked at the man. The zord's eyes flashed between yellow and green as it hesitated to attack. They turned back to green again and the zord roared, slamming its hammer onto the man. The rangers were sure the man was dead but when the hammer was removed, he was still standing.

"A spirit?" Chase whispered to his team mate.

"Gah, when will you learn Andreas that the Anklyo Zord obeys only me now", Virus called out to the man.

"Anky never gave up on me", the man now identified as Andreas cried out, "and I'll never give up on him and as you know, I could do this for all eternity".

Virus cackled, "Maybe but what about those two", he pointed his trident at the black and green rangers and shot a stream of green lightning at the pair. The rangers fell to the ground as the darkness of unconsciousness took hold.

_Unknown cave_

Riley slowly opened his eyes and stretched his aching limbs. He didn't know how long he had been out but he could see he was in a dark cave. The only light was coming from a small fire, to his surprise he could see Chase sitting next to it. The black ranger was poking the fire with a stick to try and get some more warmth from it, "Welcome back Farm Boy", he smiled at the green ranger.

Riley was too exhausted to argue and slowly moved towards the fire, "Did you bring us here?" he asked with a raspy voice.

"Nope I woke up here just like you did", Chase replied. He lifted up his grey t-shirt to reveal some bandages around his ribs, "Someone brought us here and tended to our injuries".

"That would be me", the Spanish accented voice from earlier called out from the mouth of the cave. The man walked towards the rangers and sat down next to them, "I'm sorry it's not more comfortable but it was the best I could find".

Riley eyed the man closely, "Just who are you?"

The man sighed, "My name is Andreas and I am the Aqua Dino Charge ranger, or at least I was when I was alive".

The two rangers gasped, "You're a Power Ranger?" Chase asked.

"Was", Andreas replied, "I lived six hundred years ago in the region that is now known as Spain. There was an uprising by the Legion of Deboss near my home village. That's when I found this", he opened his hand to reveal an Energem.

"One of the missing Energems", Riley said as he looked at Energem number 7 that was in Andreas' hand. He pulled out his Energem and Chase did the same.

"So you are warriors like myself", Andreas smiled, "that would explain why you were look for Anky". Andreas stood up and turned his back to the rangers, "Anky was my partner until we came under attack by Virus".

"The monster we just met?" Riley asked.

Andreas nodded, "I destroyed Virus, or at least I thought I did, unfortunately it cost me my life". He opened his robe slightly to reveal a horrible looking scar just above his heart, "The remains of my mortal injury I'm afraid".

"But if you destroyed Virus, how is he still alive and in control of your zord?" Chase replied.

"That I do not know", Andreas began, "but I'm going to need your help to release Anky from his curse. It's going to take all of us working in unison to kill Disciple Virus once and for all". Riley and Chase looked at each other, could they work well enough together for long enough?

**TO BE CONTINUED**

_**A/N – **__Anyone know the MMPR episode that Jason referenced? _


	10. The Odd Couple (Part 2)

_Chapter 10 – The Odd Couple (Part 2)_

_**Previously - **__Andreas nodded, "I destroyed Virus, or at least I thought I did, unfortunately it cost me my life". He opened his robe slightly to reveal a horrible looking scar just above his heart, "The remains of my mortal injury I'm afraid". _

_"But if you destroyed Virus, how is he still alive and in control of your zord?" Chase replied._

"_That I do not know", Andreas began, "but I'm going to need your help to release Anky from his curse. It's going to take all of us working in unison to kill Disciple Virus once and for all". Riley and Chase looked at each other, could they work well enough together for long enough?_

Andreas spoke with the black and green rangers for a few more minutes before he had to return to the spirit world. Like Torin, he could only maintain his presence in the land of the living for a limited amount of time. This left the two rangers alone in the cave. They were still too weak to move and their communicators weren't reaching anyone at the Dino Mansion.

The pair had been sitting in silence for what felt like an eternity. Eventually Riley couldn't take the silence any longer, "Can I ask you a question?" Chase nodded, "Why do you hate me?"

Chase laughed, "I don't hate you kid".

Riley looked confused, "Then why do you treat me so terribly?"

The black ranger sighed, "Because you remind me of myself when I was sixteen". Chase stood up and continued, "When I was your age I was a quiet kid and I took everything extremely seriously. That continued even after I joined the army".

"So what changed?" Riley asked.

"I saw my best friend shot dead in front of me", Chase replied. He reached underneath his shirt and removed a set of dog tags. He passed them over to Riley, "That's all I have left of Jeremy. After it happened, it was like a light bulb went off in my head. You never know when it'll be your last day so why not enjoy yourself".

The green ranger carefully handed the tags back to Riley, "I still don't get what this has to do with me?"

Chase smiled, "I'm not teasing you because I hate you, I'm trying to get you to lighten up a little bit. Alright maybe I went the wrong way about it but it was the only way I knew how". He crouched down in front of the green ranger, "It took the death of my best friend to get me to relax and I don't want the same to happen to you".

Everything clicked into place for Riley and he understood the black ranger a little bit more. "Alright I'll give it a try but I want you to promise me two things. Firstly ease up on the sarcastic comments and secondly stop calling me Farm Boy".

"I think it's a good nickname", Chase smiled, "better than the one I earned in the army".

"What was that?"

The black ranger laughed, "You haven't earned that privilege yet. Tell you what when I think you've lightened up enough, I'll tell you", he extended his hand to the green ranger, "Deal?"

Riley smiled and shook his hand with a smile. Chase smiled back and stood up, hauling up the green ranger in the process. As they walked out of the cave, they saw that Andreas had returned, "Well you two seem to be getting along a little better", he said.

"We've reached an understanding haven't we F-", Chase paused and corrected himself, "Riley". The green ranger nodded in response and appreciation at the black ranger.

"Well that's good", Andreas smiled, "I've got some bad news though, Virus is attacking the city".

"We've got to stop him", Chase called out but before they could leave, the ground erupted again as the Anklyo Zord appeared in front of them. "Looks like Virus left his new pet behind". The trio rolled out of the way of a hammer attack as the Anklyo Zord went on the offensive.

As he turned his attention back to the zord, Riley noticed a small green patch on Anky's head. It flashed green just as the zord brought his hammer down once again, "I think I know how Virus is controlling Anky", he began, "Andreas has that patch always been on the side of the zord?"

The spirit looked at his zord and shook his head, "I've never seen it before".

"Just as I thought", Riley continued, "we need to destroy and I bet it'll release the zord from Virus' control". He turned to the black ranger, "Chase do you think you could shoot the patch on Anky's head?"

Chase's eyes went wide, "I'll give it a try", he replied nervously, "the last time I took a shot under pressure, it didn't end well".

Andreas clasped his hand to the black ranger's shoulder, "Don't worry, I trust you", Chase smiled and pulled out his Dinovolver. He waited for the right opportunity and took a couple of deep, calming breaths. He squeezed the trigger and fired a pulse of black energy at the zord. To everyone relief it slammed into the patch on the Anklyo Zord's head. The zord roared in pain before his eyes returned to a bright yellow colour.

Andreas nervously approached his zord, "Anky, do you remember me?" The zord roared and initially everyone thought he was going to attack again. They breathed a sigh of relief when the zord nodded in confirmation, "He's himself again", Andreas cheered and hugged the two rangers, "I don't know how to thank you".

"You could help us destroy Virus once and for all", Chase replied. As he spoke, they saw a glow coming from inside Andreas' robe. He reached inside and much to his amazement, his Energem was glowing.

"I don't understand", the spirit began, "this hasn't shone since the day I died".

"Obviously today's your lucky day", Chase smiled, "hey Anky, reckon you could give us a lift?" The zord roared in confirmation and the trio climbed aboard. The Anklyo Zord took a couple of paces before jumping into the ground and disappearing from sight.

_Hunston Beach_

Down by the coast Tyler, Koda and Shelby were having a rough time with Disciple Virus. Without the back up from their fellow rangers, nothing they tried seemed to work. Each of them had summoned their special weapons and tried to attack simultaneously but the attacks bounced harmlessly off Virus' hard skin. In response, the Disciple of Deboss swatted them away with his trident. The rangers skidded across the wet sand, coming to a halt when they slammed into a rock, "Man that stings", Tyler stated.

"I've got sand in places I didn't know existed", Koda groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. They were about to go on the attack again but they were stopped by a violent rumble from underneath their feet. Sand went everywhere as the Anklyo Zord reappeared, knocking Virus to the ground.

"Alright they did it", Shelby called out as Chase and Riley jumped down. She caught sight of Andreas, "Who's this?"

The aqua ranger walked over to Shelby and took hold of her hand, "My name is Andreas, the original partner of the Anklyo Zord", he lighted kissed her gloved knuckles, "I bet you're a pretty _senorita_ under that helmet", Shelby blushed at the flirtatious behaviour of the man.

"Alright that's enough of that Grandpa", Chase laughed as he pulled Andreas into line.

"You could learn a thing or two from him though Chase", Riley nudged the black ranger.

Underneath his helmet Tyler smiled, "Well you two seem to be getting along better".

"I think we've reached an understanding", Chase replied and fist bumped the green ranger.

Disciple Virus meanwhile had gotten back to his feet, "You broke my control over the Anklyo Zord", he exclaimed, "but how?"

"By using a little bit of team work", Chase replied. The black and green ranger opened the barrel of their Dinovolvers and inserted their Energems, "Care to see a little bit more?", he added before spinning the chamber of his morpher, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge".

Andreas in turn pushed the activation button on his Energem before thrusting it skywards, "Spirit Ranger, Dino Charge", he was engulfed in light and when it cleared, he was wearing a suit identical to the other. The only difference was his suit was light blue in colour and the helmet was in the design of an Anklyosaurus.

"But that's impossible", Virus called out, "you're dead".

"Then this won't hurt will it", Andreas called out. He summoned a hammer, similar in design to the tail of the Anklyo Zord. With a mighty swing, he slammed it into the chest of Virus, knocking the monster into a nearby cliff face.

"Save some for us won't you", Riley added. He had summoned his Raptor Blade and Chase had called upon his Para Shot. The green ranger charged up his weapon and left a trail of green energy hanging in the air. Chase fired his weapon and it collided with Riley's energy line. The black and green streak flew towards Virus and hit him in the chest. The monster fell to the ground but he wasn't quite defeated yet.

"Alright let's call on the Dino Lance", Tyler suggested but before the rangers could do that, several ice crystals slammed into the monster and he grew to giant size. "Huh, I thought they always waited until we blew them up to do that".

"Here take this", Andreas thrust his Energem into Riley's hand, "Anky will work with you to defeat Virus for good".

Riley nodded, "Thank you Andreas, lets see what he can do". He threw the Energem towards the Anklyo Zord as Tyler and Shelby summoned their zords. The Anklyo took the place of the Stego Zord in the usual Megazord formation. He folded over so his tail could be used as a weapon.

"Dino Crush Megazord, ready", the rangers called out as they were teleported into the cockpit.

Disciple Virus didn't want to go down without a fight. He raked his trident across the chest to the Megazord, rocking the rangers on their pedestals. Virus then jammed the weapon into the lower body of the Megazord and drove the rangers into the cliff face, "Guys I don't think we can take too many hits like that", Koda called out.

"Don't worry I've got this", Shelby groaned and directed the Tricera Zord towards Virus' staff. Using it's drill tail it snapped the trident in half, releasing the rangers from their hold.

"No my trident", Virus roared.

"Time to see what the Anklyo zord is made of", Tyler smiled. The Anklyo Zord was extremely flexible, almost like rubber. From a distance it slammed into the chest of Virus three times in a row. For the finishing blow, it fired Virus high into the air. As the monster came back down, the Megazord jumped into the air. Using the Tricera Zord again, it drilled a massive hole into the monster. The two pieces of Disciple Virus slammed into the ground and exploded.

On the beach, Andreas looked up at the Dino Crush Megazord and smiled, "Well done Anky, I knew you could still do it". He turned around and began to walk away. When he was half way down the beach, his body shimmered before he completely disappeared.

_Dino Mansion_

Back at the base, the rangers were in the lab as Chase and Riley were recalling their pursuit of the Anklyo Zord. They explained how it was under the control of Disciple Virus and how Chase has destroyed the control device. They then moved on to explain that Andreas was a Power Ranger back in medieval times, leading to several comments from the team about how Jason and the Mighty Morphin rangers weren't the first like they led everyone to believe.

"So maybe we weren't the first chronologically", Jason began, trying to silence the team, "but we were the first full team in modern times".

"Keep telling yourself that old man", Tyler heckled.

"I wish Andreas could've stuck around for a bit", Riley sighed, "we never got the chance to thank him".

"Your thanks is noted", they all heard Andreas call out from behind them. He was still morphed in his aqua ranger form, "I apologise for leaving earlier but I needed to return to the spirit world".

"No apology needed", Chase began, "so what's next for you, fancy making this a team of six?"

"Unfortunately I'm going have to decline, at least on a full time basis", Andrea replied. "My mission is to try and locate the other four missing zords but if you ever need my help, all you need to do is ask". He opened up his belt buckle and pulled out three Energems, "These will help you summon Anky if you need his help in the future. Please take good care of him".

"We will Andreas", Shelby said.

"I also need to caution you. Disciple Virus was one of the three Disciples of Deboss. Please take care if you come up against any of the others in the future". He gave the team a quick nod, "Until we meet again my friends", with that he disappeared back to the spirit world.

"Great so not only do we have Chaos and his crew to worry about, we've also got two more fanatics out there", Koda groaned.

"Well we've beaten one of them, how hard can the others be?" Tyler stated.

Everyone hung their heads, "Did you really have to say that?" Riley grumbled.

"Perhaps we shouldn't tempt fate Tyler", Jason smiled before addressing everyone, "I just wanted to say job well done, especially Chase and Riley for overcoming their differences".

"Just crossed wires that's all", Riley replied and placed a hand on Chase's shoulder. The black ranger glared so Riley quickly removed it.

"I said we're friends now, we're not in some weird Bromance", Chase smiled. He jumped off a workbench and walked towards the door, "I think we all deserve a drink", he began, "the kid's buying", he pointed his Dinovolver and the door and teleported away.

"Hey I thought you weren't going to call me that", Riley called out but not with the same malice as before.

Jason sighed, "Some things will never change", he led the other rangers along with Kiera leave before teleporting out of the lab himself.


	11. Let It Go

_Chapter 11 – Let It Go_

_Hunston Valley Park_

A blue van travelled slowly across the local park and pulled up into a designated car parking area. Hunston Valley was hosting a summer festival specifically aimed towards children under twelve years old. There were several child friendly acts performing on the main stage and a number of stalls and rides to keep them entertained during the breaks between bands.

The van doors opened and out stepped Koda and Jason. The blue ranger pulled a tool box out the back of the van before locking it up securely, "I still don't see why you needed my help with this job", Jason grumbled.

"Well you mentioned you had experience of sound systems so I thought you could be useful", Koda replied quickly.

"Yeah I set up a couple of stereos at the Angel Grove Youth Center", Jason stated, "I'd hardly say I was knowledgeable".

"Trust me, you're going to be extremely useful to me today", the blue ranger said as he walked quickly towards the entrance. Jason picked up his pace to keep up with him and he wondered why Koda was in such a hurry. As they reached the gates, everything suddenly became very clear. Looking eagerly out towards the car park were Chloe and Kristy Yuzuki, Koda's sister and niece.

"Hey Chloe", Koda began, "fancy meeting you here", he added in an exaggerated manner.

"I see you made it here on time", Chloe replied, "and hello again Jason", she smiled at the former red ranger.

Jason knew a set up when he saw one. Clearly Koda had arranged for him to accompany him today. He wasn't sure how much Chloe knew about this but she was dressed in a floaty light blue summer dress and her hair was hanging loose around her face. She had made a considerable effort for a day out at a festival with her daughter, "Hello Chloe, fancy see you here". Jason paused for a moment to try and gauge her reaction, "I'm just here to help Koda on his job today".

"Oh yeah that", Koda rubbed the back of his head, "turns out I won't need you at all". He reached into his jeans and pulled out a ticket, "Now that you're here, why don't you enjoy yourself". He pushed the ticket into Jason's hand and hurried off into the park.

"I'm going to kill him", Jason growled under his breath.

"Does that mean you're going to come with us today?" Kristy asked.

Jason looked down at the young girl, she had an expectant look on her face. He threw his hands into the air, "Why not?" he sighed. The girl cheered and hurried through the gate, leaving her mother and Jason trailing far behind.

A couple of hours later, the trio were still wondering around the festival site. Kristy was in the queue for one of the rides, leaving Jason and Chloe standing by themselves. Initially Jason had been furious with Koda for setting him up but he had to admit, he was having a lot of fun. "Sorry about my brother", Chloe began, "I had no idea that he was trying to set us up on a date".

"It's fine", Jason replied, "I've gotten over my urge to kill him. I'll settle for mild bit of dismemberment", he smiled.

Chloe clutched her hand to her chest, "Surely my company isn't that bad", she joked.

"No", he smiled, "in fact I can't remember the last time I had this much fun". He hesitated before continuing, "Perhaps we could do this again", Chloe didn't reply, she just stared straight over Jason shoulder. "This is the part where you say yes", he added in desperation.

Chloe though had begun to shiver and was shaking her head, "No", he muttered, "no, you're dead".

Jason looked over his shoulder but couldn't see anyone, "Chloe you're beginning to worry me".

"No don't make me see this again", she started backing away from Jason before running off into the park. The former red ranger hurried after her but after a few paces, he noticed that other people were having a similar experience. People were dropping to their knees and bursting into tears but there was nothing around them. Their worried friends and family were trying to snap them out of it but without success.

"What the hell is going on?" Jason muttered. After a few moments the people affected by the invisible force began to glow blue, "Deboss, I should've know". Jason set off towards the main stage where Koda was working. He tried his communicator but that wasn't working, something was blocking the signal.

He had almost reached the stage when a blue blur slammed into him, knocking him and the other person to the ground. Jason sat up and saw that it was Koda, "So you've seen what's going on?" he asked.

The blue ranger nodded, "I don't understand, one minute everything was fine and the next", he extended his arms to point out the scene of misery.

"It's the Deboss", Jason replied, "I'm sorry they've gotten to Chloe", he sighed. Koda jumped to his feet and began to look around frantically but there was no sign of his sister, "Don't worry we'll find her".

Koda nodded before he paused, "Where's Kristy?" Jason's eyes went wide, in the chaos he had forgotten about the young girl. He turned around and sprinted in the direction of the ride where the young girl had been waiting in line.

When they reached the ride, they were relieved to see that the young girl was waiting patiently for them, "Hey Uncle Koda, Jason", she smiled.

"Kristy, thank God", Koda hugged his niece tightly, "look there's a bit of monster related trouble".

"I know, Daddy told me", Kristy replied.

The blue ranger was stunned into silence of a moment, "But Krissy, you're Daddy's...well you know".

"Dead", Kristy stated bluntly, "I know", she sighed, "I was sad for a while but I know he'll always be in my heart".

The two men were surprised by the maturity shown by the young girl but also proud at the same time, "So how did your Daddy tell you about the monster", Jason asked.

"Well when I was waiting for the ride, everything changed and I was back on that day in our old home town, you know when all those robots invaded", Kristy was referencing the Armada's invasion of Harwood County. "Daddy came up to me and said that I was a bad daughter but I shouted at him. When I did that he disappeared, then a monster appeared and got really angry. Then I reappeared back here".

"So they're making people relive their worst experiences", Koda summarised. He then turned back to his niece, "You were really brave today".

"Thanks Uncle Koda", she smiled, "does that mean you're going to shoot it with your fancy dinosaur gun", the blue ranger's jaw dropped, "don't worry I won't tell anyone".

Koda was flabbergasted that she had discovered his secret, he thought he had been extremely careful around her, "Kids these days are smart", Jason slapped Koda on the shoulder. He knelt down and handed his communicator over to Kristy, "This will contact the other rangers", he began, "keep trying to reach them and we'll hunt that monster". The young girl nodded as Jason and Koda searched the park for Chloe.

After a few minutes they found her on her hands and knees on the grass next to a tree. There was no one else around her, "I'm sorry Yousaike", she wailed, "please come back to me".

Koda's first reaction was to run to her but he wasn't sure what good that would do. In frustration he turned to Jason, "How can we help her?" he cried.

"I'm not sure, if I could reach Kiera she might have an idea", Jason ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Wait I've got an idea, do you think she's reliving the Armada's invasion?"

"I know she is", Koda replied with conviction.

"Well you were there too and so was I", Jason began, "perhaps we can use that shared experience to enter her hallucination".

Koda's glance flashed over to his sister, "It's worth a try". They knelt down next to the woman and grabbed her hands. They closed their eyes and concentrated hard on the day of the invasion. After a few moments the scene changed and they were back in Harwood County nearly a year ago. The scene of devastation was just as bad as they remembered. They were in an underpass surrounded by small tower blocks. Above them was a road where various X-Borgs and Bruisers were jumping down on to the unsuspecting civilians below.

The two men walked carefully through the ongoing battle but no one could see them and they couldn't interact with what had already happened. "It happened over there", Koda said and pointed to nearby pillar. When they approached they saw a slightly younger Kristy get plucked out of the grasp of several X-Borgs by a ranger in a pink suit with a black zigzag pattern on her chest.

"That's Karone, the Pink Galaxy ranger", Jason said to the blue ranger, "always had a soft spot for children". They saw Chloe and an tall Asian man with cropped black hair backed up against a pillar by more X-Borgs. Chloe was clearly frightened but Yousaike was standing protectively in front of his wife. Trying desperately to reach them was another red ranger. This one had a white patch on his chest with an upside down red triangle. His helmet had a similar design, "Wes Collins, the Red Time Force ranger", Jason relayed to Koda.

"Remind me to thank these guys if our paths cross", Koda responded.

Another two rangers tried to help, Koda knew who they were immediately. They were Carter and Dana Grayson, the red and pink Lightspeed rangers. Despite the best efforts of the three rangers, one of the X-Borgs rammed his staff into the ribs of Yousaike. His green shirt was immediately stained with his blood as he looked down at the wound. The staff was removed and he slumped to the ground, much to the distress of Chloe.

Jason knew what was coming but it was still a bit surreal to see himself as the Red Mighty Morphin ranger jump in view. He remembered using his Power Sword to cut through the X-Borgs around the couple. He even remembered Koda jumping over the fallen robots to get to his sister. As Dana knelt down next to Yousaike, she checked his pulse and shook her head. The past version of Jason approached Chloe but she snarled, "I believed in you, how could you let this happen?" Past Jason shook his head and mumbled an apology.

Koda looked over to the version of Jason that was with him, "I don't remember you being there", he began, "you never told me", he muttered.

"I didn't know until I met Chloe", he replied, "and it's not something I wanted to remember".

"Yes but she will remember it forever", a voice called out. The two men turned around and saw the monster they were searching for. His body was green and yellow and designed to look like a giant maze. His head was similar in design and his eyes were quite wide apart, giving him a bulbous head. In his hand was a long stake with a pink flag on top. "You're precious sister will be trapped in her own nightmare forever".

"Not if I've got something to say about it", Koda called out. He retrieved his Dinovolver and inserted his Energem, "Dino Spirt, Dino Charge". Morphing in a burst of blue light he turned to Jason, "Find my sister and look after her".

Jason nodded and began searching for the real Chloe as Koda fought the monster. It take him long to find her behind the pillar where her husband had been killed. She was barely conscious and was muttering something under her breath, "Chloe", Jason shook her, "Chloe listen to me, it wasn't your fault".

"But I failed him", she mumbled, barely looking at Jason.

"Chloe you haven't failed anyone", Jason replied firmly, "you've raised a smart, intelligent daughter. You've kept your business intact and you're an amazing sister to Koda. I fail to see how that makes you a failure". The image began to flicker as Chloe gradually regained her self-belief. Jason grabbed her under her arms and gently lifted her to her feet. He manoeuvred her so she could see the blue ranger fighting against the monster alone, "The rangers are sorry that they couldn't help your husband. A lot of people died that day, I'm sure they wish they could've saved everyone but it just wasn't possible".

Koda had called upon his Stego Shield and was using it slash at the monster. The creature jammed his staff into the blue ranger ribs, knocking him to his feet. Koda didn't give up and immediately went back on the attack, "I know it's hard but you need to let him rest in peace". Chloe nodded and the image of Harwood County disappeared, much to the monsters annoyance. Whatever forcefield was keeping everyone out also fell and the other rangers appeared in the park. "Let's get out of here", Jason said and led Chloe away from the battle.

The blue ranger smiled under his helmet as Jason led his sister to safety, "Sorry we're late", Tyler began, "something was stopping us getting in".

"Why don't you take a break", Chase began, "we'll take it from here". Using his Para Shot, Chase fired a barrage of black energy at the monster. Riley leapt over his shoulders and slashed the monster with his Raptor claw. Shelby landed a roundhouse kick on the monster before driving her Tricera drill into his ribs. Finally Tyler came flying out of the sky and smashed his Tyranno Fang into the face of the monster.

The monster though wasn't done though and somehow he managed to get back to his feet. Swinging his staff in a wide arc, he fired purple energy at the rangers. Tyler and Riley managed to duck out the way but the blast caught Chase and Shelby in the chest, knocking them to the ground. The red and green rangers swapped their special weapons for their Dino Blades. Tyler was able to deflect the first couple of blows but the third caught him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the other fallen rangers. Riley lasted a little longer thanks to his skill with a blade but soon he too had fallen to the monster's weapon.

"Prepare to be trapped in your nightmares forever", he roared. He charged up his staff and fired another blast towards the fallen rangers. Unfortunately for the monster he had forgotten about Koda. The blue ranger jumped in front of his team mates and reflected the blast back using his Stego Shield.

"Nice one Koda", Shelby coughed as she hobbled towards the blue ranger.

Tyler reached into his belt buckle and pulled out an Energem. He threw it over to Koda, "Care to do the honours".

Koda looked down and saw that it was the Dino Lance gem. Tossing it into the air, the rangers special weapons assembled themselves into the Dino Lance. Grabbing the handle Koda pulled the weapon back, "This is for messing with my family", he cried before driving the Dino Lance into monster. The creature roared in pain before falling to the floor and exploding.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side", Chase joked and patted the blue ranger on the shoulder.

The blue ranger gave a half nod, "I need to check on my sister", he ran back toward the festival area, demorphing in the process.

In a quiet part of the park, Jason had sat Chloe down on a bench. He found a bottle of water and pushed it across the table. "Here, have a drink".

She nodded and took a deep swig, "Thanks, I'm feeling much better". She sighed, "Thanks for saving me, again".

"Don't mention it", Jason smiled, "some first date huh".

"So this was a date", Chloe gave a half smile before it fell, "I thought I was betraying Yousaike by liking someone else". She sighed and looked up to the sky, "But you were right, it's time to move on".

Before their conversation could continue, Koda ran up to them, closely followed by the other rangers, "Chloe are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah just a little drained", she replied. She looked behind her brother at the other rangers, "I didn't need a full search party you know", she now looked suspiciously at Koda, "how do you know them?"

"Perhaps that's a story for another day", Tyler jumped in front of the blue ranger, "we passed your daughter near the entrance. If you're feeling better we should go and make sure she's ok". Chloe nodded and gingerly stood up from the wooden bench.

Unbeknown to the rangers, General Chaos had watched the entire scene from the nearby undergrowth, "So Desparamaze was a failure", he sighed, "no matter, I've got a trick up my sleeve". The sun reflected of the shiny surface of a figure standing next to him, "Isn't that right my golden friend". In a flash of light General Chaos and his newest ally teleported away from the park.


	12. Thunderstruck

_Chapter 12 - Thunderstruck_

_Ice Palace_

The Ice Palace was deserted other than two figures lurking within the mist. The first figure was General Chaos and the other was a towering presence, even amongst the Legion of Deboss. He had a red lion's head and sharp golden claws. He was wearing a white vest with chains criss crossing his muscular chest. Strapped to his back was a golden sword with several smaller blades sticking out from the main weapon. He was General Fury, the Deboss' primary enforcer.

"I'm relying on you for this mission Fury", Chaos growled, "if you disappoint me then the consequences will be dire".

"Have some faith in my newest soldier Chaos", Fury replied, "the reanimation process was a complete success and he is very loyal to our cause".

General Chaos tapped his chin in thought, "Is there a chance he will remember his past?"

Fury chuckled, "None at all, he is the perfect soldier".

"Very well, proceed with your plan", Chaos replied. General Fury nodded and departed the Ice Palace. Chaos smirked to himself, those retched Dino Charge rangers wouldn't know what hit them.

_Hunston Valley Park_

It was a warm summers day and the rangers were using this opportunity to train outside. Usually Jason would hold their training session in the make shift gym inside the Dino Mansion but unfortunately he had to work today. He had delegated today's training to Tyler and currently the red ranger was leading them in a gentle jog around the park. Somehow Jason had also managed to persuade Kiera to leave her lab and train outside with the others. She was currently at the back of the group alongside Koda, "Keep up at the back", Tyler called out.

"I'm sorry we can't all be a fit as you", Koda wheezed.

"This is nothing compared to training in the deserts of Afghanistan, trust me", Chase added.

"Next time can we just do laps in the pool", Kiera choked out as he struggled to catch her breath.

"Are you a good swimmer then?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah you could say that", Kiera muttered.

"Alright let's take five", Tyler said, bringing everyone to a halt. The group immediately took a long drink of water and collapsed to the grass. After about five minutes resting, the red ranger jumped up to his feet, "Alright perhaps we should do a bit of sparring", he began.

"Why don't we see what Chase and Riley can do", Shelby called out as she got to her feet, "I can analyse their technique."

Tyler looked at the pink ranger for a moment, the team hadn't discussed a second in command but Shelby was slowing edging her way into that role, "Alright Shel", he turned to the green and black rangers, "you heard the lady".

Reluctantly Riley and Chase got to their feet and took a fighting stance. Chase dodged a loose looking kick from the green ranger and playfully pushing him in the back. Riley responded by catching him on the upper arm with a punch. The black ranger winced in pain, causing Riley to stop temporarily. Chase saw his opening and kicked the green ranger in the stomach, sending him sprawling onto the grass. "Hey no fair", Riley complained.

"All's fair in combat", Chase smiled, "tell you what, I'll let you have another go Farm Boy". Riley was fully committed this time and unleashed a couple of kicks towards the black ranger's mid section. Chase was able to block them easily but he couldn't get out the way of a roundhouse kick aimed towards his head. It didn't catch him fully but it was enough to knock him off balance. Riley smiled and rolled over the black ranger, preparing another attack. Chase saw him coming and side stepped to his left. Almost on instinct he extended his leg and caught Riley flush in the jaw. The green ranger stumbled for a moment before crashing to the ground face first.

Everyone rushed to his side and rolled him onto his back but he was out cold. After a few moments his eyes fluttered and he slowly regained consciousness, "Riley I'm so sorry", Chase said with genuine concern showing on his face.

Riley shook his head, "No it's fine", he replied, "I guess I lost", he added in confusion.

"That's not the only thing you're going to lose green ranger", a voice boomed. The group got to their feet and turned to face the imposing figure that was General Fury.

"So we meet again General Fury", Koda smirked.

"Care for round two", Shelby added.

"You need to earn that honour pink ranger", he pulled out his sword, "Vivix, attack". A dozen white suited footsoldiers appeared out of thin air and charged towards the rangers. Chase and Riley teamed up to take on three of the grunts. The black ranger punched one in the stomach before pulling out his Dinovolver. He blasted the creature between the eyes and it fell to the ground. He whipped another soldier towards Riley who was standing a few feet away. He executed a near perfect crescent kick that almost took the poor creatures head off.

The blue and pink rangers had their hands full with their own footsoldiers. Koda grabbed one around the neck and twisted it head. There was a sickening crack and it collapsed into a heap on the ground. Another Vivix charged at the blue ranger but he was able to lift it over his head and slam it onto the body of its fallen comrade. "For an engineering grad, you're surprisingly strong", Shelby called out.

"I'm just full of surprises", Koda replied as he pushed a Vivix towards the pink ranger. Shelby jumped into the air and took it down with a headscissors. Another Vivix tried to attack her on the ground but she spun her legs and caught it in the stomach. Leaping to her feet, she used the same kick that Chase used to knock out Riley moments ago. It had the same effect on the footsoldier and it fell to the ground

Tyler meanwhile had the rest of the creatures to deal with until he saw a purple and white blur to his left kick a Vivix in the chest. He turned his head fully and saw the blur of motion that was Kiera. When she had dispatched another Vivix, she turned to the red ranger, "Did you think that Uncle Jason wouldn't teach me something?" That momentary distraction was enough for a couple of footsoldiers to sneak up on the young girl. One of them clubbed her on the head and sent her sprawling to the ground.

Moving quickly, the red ranger leapt to her defence and hit a couple of spin kicks on the Vivix. Kiera had recovered enough to pull her own Dinovolver out of her bag. Quickly inserting the Dino Inflate gem into the weapon, she fired at the final two remaining Vivix. They inflated into giant balls of gas and slowly floated off into the sky. "Huh that's one way to do it I guess", Tyler laughed as he helped their technician to her feet.

General Fury meanwhile shook his head as he watched the two Vivix drift away with the breeze, "Useless creatures, not even beaten by a ranger".

"Guess you're next Fury", Tyler called out.

The general was unmoved and after a few moments, he began to laugh, "Oh red ranger, you have no idea what's coming for you".

The rangers heard a rumble of thunder, which was a little strange as there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The rumble got closer until there was a flash of golden lightning at their feet. Something flew over the top of them and landed next to General Fury. The group gasped at the figure slowly turned around to face them. He was wearing a suit almost identical to their, except it was gold and his suit had two metal shoulder pads compared to their one. Tumbling down his back were two navy coloured pieces of fabric that gave the appearance of wings. Around his left arm was a blue brace with the golden head of a Pterodactyl sitting on top. The gold ranger pulled out a long blue and silver sword and stepped menacingly towards the rangers. "Allow me to introduce the Dino Charge Gold Ranger", Fury smirked, "the personal ranger of the Legion of Deboss".

"Kiera, get back to the mansion", Riley whispered to the girl. Not needing to be told twice, she slowly backed away from the rangers and ran to their nearest teleportation point. The gold ranger fired a burst of energy from his wrist device over the heads of the rangers and towards the retreating girl. Fortunately Kiera managed to teleport away before the blast hit her.

"Hey aren't you meant to be on our side", Chase called out but the gold ranger ignored him and kept moving towards the team.

"I don't want to fight a fellow ranger", Tyler added but the gold ranger responded by punching him in the face. Koda jumped to the defence of his leader and pushed the mystery ranger across the grass. The gold ranger flew an impressive distance away but managed to remain on his feet. Tyler touched his lip and saw that he was bleeding, "Alright, you leave us no choice". The rangers called on their Dinovolvers and inserted their Energems into the barrels, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", they called and morphed in a flash of light. Immediately they went into Armour Mode and called on their special weapons.

The gold ranger got into a defence stance as the ranger began to attack. Shelby charged in with her Tricera Drill but she was batted away with the gold ranger's sword. He tried to swing it in her direction but Koda blocked it with his shield. The blue ranger slashed his weapon across the gold ranger's chest but this didn't faze him at all. With a swing of his mighty sword, the gold ranger sent Koda and Shelby flying across the park.

With two rangers down, the gold ranger was looking for his next target when several pulses of black energy hit him in the back. Turning around he saw Chase waiving at him and the black ranger fired again. This time the gold ranger blocked the shots with his sword before he charged up with weapon with golden energy. He unleashed a lightning attack on the black ranger which knocked Chase onto his back. Smoke was pouring off his suit as Chase rolled around on the floor in considerable pain.

Jumping to his team mates aid, Riley had his Raptor Claw and a Dino Blade in his hands. He used the claw to slash repeatedly across the gold rangers chest, staggering him slightly. He then tried to use his Dino Blade but the gold ranger instinctively parried the blow away with his own sword. The pair circled each other before their swords clashed once again. The gold ranger was clearly an experienced swordsman as he repelled Riley's attacks with ease. With a quick kick to the legs, he knocked the green ranger off balance before bringing his own blade down across Riley's upper body. With his defences down, Riley was wide open a point blank blast from the gold ranger's brace that knocked him into his fallen team mates.

Not wanting to give the gold ranger an opening, Tyler battered him across the back with his Tyranno Claw. Surprised by this sneak attack, the gold ranger fell to his knees. Tyler prepared his special attack and brought his claw down towards the gold ranger's helmet. He was stunned when the gold ranger caught the attack with ease. He lifted Tyler up into the air and through him over to the rest of the rangers. "Ok this guy's tough", Tyler groaned, "perhaps if we hit him all at once". He pulled out the Dino Lance gem and the others nodded in agreement.

Sensing this attack, the gold ranger opened the blade of his sword and inserted three golden Energems into the weapon. The other rangers had assembled the Dino Lance and Tyler launched it in the direction of their opponent. The gold ranger didn't panic and calmly traced a square in the air before slashing through the shape he had just drawn. A stream of golden lightning hit the Dino Lance and it broke apart into its component pieces. The energy stream didn't stop and it struck the rangers, triggering a massive explosion. They cried out in pain before the blast forced them to demorph. They slumped to their knees before passing out from their injuries.

"Very good", Fury chuckled from the shadows. He was tempted to finish the rangers off but he wanted to demean them further. Calling off his personal ranger, the pair teleported away and left the rangers in a heap on the scorched grass of Hunston Park.

_Dino Mansion_

Tyler groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden influx of light. He looked around and noticed that he was back in his room at the Dino Mansion. As he tried to sit up, he winced from the pain shooting through his ribs and head. He reached up to his forehead and found that someone had wrapped a bandage around it when he had been unconscious. The memories of the last battle returned to him, that gold ranger really packed a punch. Another glance around his room told him that the others weren't there with him. He was about to stand up when he heard voice from outside his bedroom door.

"What is it about dinosaur teams and evil rangers", Kiera began, "first Uncle Tommy, then Trent and now this golden asshole".

"Kiera language", Jason scolded, "do the records that Torin gave you say anything about a gold ranger".

"Nothing about a gold ranger", she replied, "but they do mention a golden coloured zord. I'd bet my reputation that it belongs to the gold ranger".

Jason sighed at the thought of another evil ranger going on the rampage with a zord. Trying to stop the Dragonzord when it was under Rita's control had been bad enough. "How are the others?"

"They'll live but they should rest up before going into battle again", Kiera said.

"They might not have a choice", Jason replied, "especially if the gold ranger finds his missing zord". There was a pause before Jason continued, "Let's go to the lab, maybe we can find it before he does". With that the pair walked up the corridor and away from Tyler's door.

The red ranger slumped back to his bed in relief that his friends were alive. He fought through the pain to stand up, struggling to keep his balance. He grabbed his red shirt off the floor and gingerly put it on. Tyler crossed the floor and opened the door, he needed to stop the gold ranger, before someone really got hurt.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	13. Ray of Light

_Chapter 13 – Ray of Light_

_Dino Mansion_

The following morning after the gold ranger's attack, the Dino Mansion was eerily quiet. Under orders from Jason, the rangers were restricted to light exercise and plenty of bed rest. Tyler though wasn't one for sitting around and doing nothing. He had already been kicked out of the lab twice yesterday and ordered back to bed but he couldn't help but feel useless lying around all the time. Opening his door and quietly creeping across the landing, he made his way towards the lab. When he reached the door, he held up his Dinovolver and was instantly teleported inside.

Looking around he noticed that the computers were still running a search for the gold ranger's Ptera Zord. The last time he had been removed from the lab, the computers hadn't found anything. Seeing that the search was still ongoing didn't fill the red ranger with much confidence. He shuffled towards the main work station to try and run his own search, however, he had to take a step back when he saw someone in the chair. Looking a little closer he saw Kiera slumped over a keyboard. She had obviously fallen asleep at the computer as she was dressed in the same clothes as yesterday. Tyler smiled as her hair was sticking out in weird positions and a pair of red framed glasses were sitting on her face at an odd angle.

Tyler cleared his throat and the teen bolted upright. She adjusted her glasses and looked around in confusion. She relaxed when she saw the red ranger in front of her, "Tyler you scared the hell out of me".

"Sorry, couldn't sleep", he replied, "nice glasses".

"Yeah it was a long night", Kiera began, "my contacts were uncomfortable". She felt her hair and blushed a bright shade of red when she felt the state it was in, "Shouldn't you be in bed", she added as she tried to smooth her wild hair.

The red ranger held his hands up, "I promise to behave myself this time, please don't kick me out". He sighed before continuing, "I need to know how the search is going".

Kiera smiled at his answer, "Spoken like a true red ranger". She tapped a couple of buttons on the computer to retrieve the search results, "Looks like we've got nothing I'm afraid".

Tyler clenched his fists in frustration, "That does it, I can't sit around any longer. I'm going to find him".

He turned around but he was surprised to see the rest of his team standing in front of the door. He could see several cuts and bruises on the exposed parts of their bodies. Chase had a huge bandage covering his left wrist and lower arm. Koda had a bandage wrapped around his head and his hair was matted together with dried blood. Riley took a step forward and his right leg nealyr gave out on him. Finally Shelby had a black eye and a plaster covering her left cheek, "You're not going anywhere without us", the pink ranger said.

"You all need to stay here and rest", Tyler replied firmly.

"And you don't", Koda stated and stepped forward. He poked Tyler in the ribs and the red ranger recoiled in pain, "Yeah just as I thought".

"Tyler we're a team, we have to stick together if we're going to defeat this golden bastard", Chase added.

"I must be sick", Tyler smiled, "Chase is talking about being part of a team".

"It's the painkillers talking", he grunted in response. Suddenly the alarms in the lab started blaring and the rangers had to cover their ears. They moved as quickly as they could towards the central console.

"Have you found the Ptera Zord?" Riley asked.

"Erm kinda", Kiera replied. On screen a giant golden Pteranodon was flying high above the city. Periodically it would fire off bolts of golden lightning, taking huge chunks out of the buildings below. Deciding he had seen enough, Tyler turned around and marched towards the door, closely followed by the other rangers, "Wait, what am I going to tell Uncle Jason?" Kiera called out.

"Whatever the hell you want", Tyler growled as he and the others teleported away.

_Hunston Valley Financial District_

Amongst the skyscrapers, General Fury and the gold ranger were watching the destruction that the Ptera Zord was causing to the city. The lion face general smiled as the humans ran screaming through the streets as they tried to avoid falling rubble. He saw a mother and a small child on a nearby street corner look up as a large chunk of concrete fell directly towards them. A shot of black energy hit the rubble and it shattered into millions of smaller pieces. The black ranger ran over to the pair, "Are you two alright?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you", the woman responded.

"Quickly get out of here", Chase replied and ran after the other rangers. The team stood in the deserted street and faced off against General Fury and the gold ranger. Neither made a move as they sized each other up.

"Back for more rangers", Fury laughed, "I thought you had learnt your lesson last time".

"Guess we're a little slow", Koda replied. His shoulders fell when he realised what he had said.

"Leave the quick come backs to us in future", Shelby whispered.

"You rangers are just in time to witness the final destruction of your precious city", Fury snarled. He pushed the gold ranger forward, "You know what to do".

The gold ranger opened his belt buckled and retrieved one of his Energems. He clicked the button on the side and threw it in the direction of the hovering Ptera Zord. The flying machine caught it in its mouth and slowly it began to transform. It's main body rotated at ninety degrees to its wings, meaning that its feet were now flat on the floor. It's head moved down over it's chest, revealing a humanoid face underneath. The latter half of its wings folded down so they covered its arms, turning them into giant blades. Finally a long black cape fluttered down from its wings until it was nearly touching the floor. The gold ranger jumped into the air and landed in the cockpit of his Megazord.

"Ok that doesn't look good", Riley cried out. Tyler, Koda and Shelby quickly pulled out their own Energems and the rangers formed the Dino Charge Megazord. The first thing they noticed about the Ptera Megazord was that it was much quicker than their machine. The Ptera Megazord used its bladed arms to attack the Megazord but they were intercepted by the Stego Zord. Shelby fired up the Tricera Zord and aimed an attack at the gold ranger's Zord but he quickly manoeuvred his machine out of the way. The Ptera Megazord placed its hands together and fired a bolt of lightning at the rangers. The Dino Charge Megazord was rocked by the blast and the rangers stumbled on their podiums.

"We need more firepower", Tyler said and pulled out the Anklyo Energem. The Anklyo Zord took the place of the Stego Zord and the rangers immediately put it to good use. The aqua coloured hammer slammed into the chest of the Ptera Megazord, rocking the golden machine. The gold ranger wasn't beaten yet though. Using his superior speed, the gold ranger instructed his Megazord into the air. It rotated and used it's bladed arms to slash the Dino Crush Megazord.

"This isn't working", Koda called out as he and the others tried to keep the Megazord under control.

"Maybe we should call on the big guns", Riley turned his head to the black ranger. Catching onto his train of thought, Chase summoned the Para Zord and Riley called on the Raptor Zord. With the Dino Artillery Megazord now formed, this was their best chance to keep the gold ranger grounded. The Raptor Zord using its tail blade and slashed at the chest of the Ptera Megazord. Chase followed suit and instructed the Para Zord to fire on the rival Megazord. Streams of black energy hit the Ptera Megazord and it finally fell to the ground. It didn't move for a few moments and the rangers sensed victory.

"Is that it?" Shelby asked the others as they cautiously moved towards the fallen Megazord. Suddenly the Ptrea Megazord sprang back into life and kicked at the legs of the Artillery Megazord. Once again it used its spinning bladed attack to pin the rangers back before charging up another blast of golden lightning. The blast hit the Artillery Megazord and it spasmed violently before crashing to the ground. Smoke poured out of the rangers Megazord as the Ptera Megazord loomed menacingly overhead.

"Our zords aren't responding", Chase called out, "looks like this is it".

"It's not over until it's over", Tyler replied but even the optimistic red ranger couldn't see a way out of this. All the rangers could do was prepare for the final blow but strangely it never came. They looked out of the cockpit and saw that the Ptera Megazord was convulsing wildly. Inside his cockpit, the gold ranger had sunk to his knees and clutched the side of his helmet. He recovered enough to instruct his Megazord back into dinosaur mode and it took to the skys. The Dino Megazord slowly righted itself and could only look in confusion at the retreating Ptera Zord.

"What the hell was that all about?" Koda asked.

"No idea", Tyler replied, "but let's head back home and assess the damage". The damaged Megazord lumbered away from the scene and broke apart into its individual dinosaurs. The rangers called on their Dino Cycles and rode back home

_Dino Mansion_

It was a weary group that stumbled through the front door of the Dino Mansion. The battle with the gold ranger hadn't helped their existing injuries. Chase was holding his wrist painfully and the head wound on Koda's head was bleeding again. Blood seeped through the white bandage and stained it a dark shade of red. Turning into the front room, they saw a worried looking Jason sitting on a sofa. They were expecting a lecture from the original red ranger but then they noticed Torin standing behind Jason. "Erm hi", Tyler stated.

"Welcome back", Jason began, "I would call you all crazy for confronting the gold ranger whilst still injured but I think you already know that". He sighed, "Plus I'm sure I did that on many occasions when I was a ranger so I can't really have a go at you for that".

"Thanks old man", Tyler replied before turning to Torin, "Hey Torin, what brings you to the land of the living".

"I sensed that the Ptera Zord was active again", the eagle creature replied, "I had to come and see if was true".

Just then Kiera bounced down the stairs, "Hey I've got the damage report on the zords", she then saw Torin, "but I see we have company it can wait". She turned to leave but Torin stopped her.

"No stay young one", he began, "this concerns you and well". Everyone made themselves comfortable as Torin began his story, "Three hundred years ago, the Ptera Zord found his partner, a young Russian warrior by the name of Ivan Prushanov".

"Wait I've heard that name before", Riley began, "we studied that period of Russian history in school last semester. They spoke of a fearsome soldier by the name of Ivan the Bloody, he was the chief enforcer of the Tsar".

Torin laughed, "That's mostly correct but history has a way of skewing the facts. Ivan trained for many years in various different techniques. It's rumoured he even travelled to Japan to learn the ways of the Samurai and Ninja. Bear in mind that this wasn't a simple matter as it is now, Japan was largely isolated from the rest of the world at this time".

"So if he was around three hundred years ago, does that mean he's a spirit like Andreas?" Shelby asked, "Is it even the same person, I mean someone else could've picked up his powers".

"I believe it's the same person Shelby", Torin replied. "During his last battle as a ranger, Ivan was facing General Fury when they both fell into a portal. I believed that Ivan was gone for good but when his Energem didn't return to the Earth, I knew that he was still alive".

"What do you mean by returned to the Earth?" Kiera interrupted.

"Oh my apologies, when the owner of a Energem passes away, the spirit in his or her gem will rest on Earth until it finds someone else worthy", Torin replied. "Even though Andreas still has a bond with his Energem and the Anklyo Zord, the spirit of the Anklyosaurus rested on Earth until it was found again. The Pteranodon spirit did not return which meant that Ivan was still out there somewhere".

"But if he was on our side before, why is he now fighting us?" Jason asked.

Torin sighed, "I'm not one hundred percent sure but I believe the portal may have placed Ivan and Fury in suspended animation together. Their close proximity to each other could've led to the powerful will of Fury exerting control over the gold ranger. The use of the Pteranodon Energem though will have partially countered the effects, it now up to Ivan to throw off Fury's control now".

"Then we need to help him do that", Tyler stated as he stood up from his chair. He grabbed his Dinovolver and started to head towards the door.

"Tyler where are you going", Shelby called out.

"Guys there's a fellow ranger out there who needs our help", he began, "when the Deboss realise that he's fighting their mind control, what do you think they'll do to him?"

"But Torin said he wasn't certain that's what had happened", Chase replied.

"He sounded certain enough to me, now who's with me?" the red ranger countered. The others were a little hesitant but one by one they got up and followed their leader out of the Mansion.

"That's one passionate leader you have Jason", Torin smiled.

"That's one word for it", Jason sighed, "how certain are you that Ivan has been brainwashed?"

Torin shrugged, "Call it an educated guess coupled with a little bit of hope. The Ivan I knew three hundred years ago would never join up with the Legion of Deboss". He sighed before adding, "I just hope I'm not wrong".

"So do I", Jason responded. After serving under Zordon for several years, he knew that the educated guesses of a powerful being were normally correct but he didn't know Torin well enough to place him in the same category as his former mentor. Jason could only hope that Tyler wasn't leading his team into a trap.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	14. All That Glitters Is Gold

_Chapter 14 – All That Glitters Is Gold_

_Hunston Beach_

The sounds of hurried footsteps echoed across the empty beach as five people sprinted near the edge of the sea. At the head of the human convoy was Tyler, closely followed the rest of the rangers. Waiting patiently further down the beach for them was General Fury and the gold ranger. They were accompanied by two blue creatures that they hadn't seen before. Their arms and legs were muscular and lined with purple accents. Across their shoulders was a snake motif that gave the appearance of shoulder pads. Their heads were bulbous with a couple of spikes coming out from the top. In their hands were large swords with a snake skin like pattern.

The rangers skidded to a halt, kicking up large clumps of sand in the process. Tyler's face was a mask of conviction as he stepped towards the villainous group, "We want our ranger back", he spat towards General Fury.

The lion faced monster laughed, "I have no idea what you're talking about red ranger".

"I think you do", Tyler replied, "we know who the gold ranger really is". Tyler turned his head slightly towards the gold ranger, "He is Ivan Prushanov, a legendary warrior whose name was feared throughout the land. But he was more than that, he was the Dino Charge Gold Ranger and he fought against everything the Legion of Deboss stands for". Tyler paused as the gold ranger hung his head slightly, "He can still be that person again, all he has to do is fight".

"Oh he'll fight", Fury snarled, "gold ranger, attack them". The rangers flinched as it looked like the gold ranger was going to charge them but he hesitated. His head tilted from side to side, almost like he was trying to understand what was happening. "I said fight them", Fury roared and blasted the gold ranger in the back with lightning. The ranger cried out in pain before collapsing to his knees.

"Oh no you don't", Tyler cried and pulled out his Dinovolver. He blasted the general with a round of laser fire that rocked the lion creature. Fury was about to strike against Tyler but the other rangers stepped forward and fired off their own Dinovolvers. They stood side by side with their leader as the strange blue creatures moved in front of Fury.

"See this is what loyal servants should do", Fury spat at the gold ranger. He then turned his vitriol towards the other rangers, "These are my Cobra's, they're much stronger than the Vivix's you've faced up until now".

The Cobra's stepped forward and bared their fangs. They spat a sickly looking yellow liquid towards the rangers. Fortunately they were able to roll out the way as the liquid hit the beach where they had been standing. The sand sizzled and slowly began to dissolve, leaving behind a significant crater in the beach, "I think it's time to suit up", Tyler said to the others. The Cobra's though had other ideas and charged towards the rangers.

One of them jumped towards Koda and Shelby just as the blue ranger had loaded his Energem. He spun the barrel and fired off a stream of morphing energy at the Cobra. The creature flew backwards but it was able to land on its feet. The distraction was enough for the blue and pink rangers to morph and they immediately armoured up. The Cobra spat more yellow liquid at the pair but once again Koda reacted quickly. He blocked the acid with his Stego Shield, the surface sizzled when the liquid made contact, "Man that stings", Koda said as he shook the excess acid off his shield.

"Better not let it hit me then", Shelby smiled under her helmet. He cartwheeled towards the Cobra slashed it across the face with her Tricera Drill. The monster roared in pain and brought it sword down on the pink ranger. She parried the blow away with her drill and kicked it in the chest. Koda jumped over the shoulders of the pink ranger and they both attacked it simultaneously, their shield and drill cutting across its upper body. The creature fell to the ground but soon it was getting back to its feet, "Geez that thing it tough", Shelby commented before going on the attack again.

Over with the black and green rangers, they were also having difficulties with their own Cobra. The creature was moving almost too quickly for Chase to get an accurate shot away. Occasionally the shot from his Dinovolver clipped the snake creature but it didn't cause enough damage to slow it down. "Riley go for the legs", Chase called out, "we need to slow it down".

"I'm on it", the green ranger replied. Sliding into the sand, Riley was able to avoid the Cobra's mighty sword but his low position didn't give him much leverage. The Cobra was too quick to even cut through its legs. Riley then had an idea, he opened his belt buckle and pulled out an Energem, a dull grey one with the number 21 on it. Quickly inserted it into his Dinovolver, he fired it at the ground near the Cobra. The snake creature immediately crumpled to the ground but so did Chase and the green ranger.

"Riley what the hell did you just do?" the black ranger called out.

"I used the Dino Gravity gem", Riley replied, "it creates a localised field of high gravity. I thought it would slow the Cobra down".

"Yeah but it's also slowed us down", Chase shouted. Deciding to see if the high gravity field would have an impact on his Dinovolver, he struggled to lift the weapon into the air. He fired and much to his surprise the blast slammed straight into the Corba, keeping it pinning down. Chase rolled the barrel of his weapon and immediately armoured up, the extra weight on his arm caused it to sink into the sand, "Quickly Riley, get ready to cancel the gravity field", he said to the green ranger. He then shouted over to the red ranger, who was battling Fury, "Tyler can I borrow your Tyranno Fang?"

Tyler ducked underneath the sword of Fury, "Why?" he asked the black ranger.

"Just trust me", Chase replied. As Tyler threw his weapon towards the black ranger, Riley cancelled the gravity field. Chase caught the Tyranno Fang and connected it to onto the back of his Para Shot, "Tyranno Blaster", he called out and fired a mixture of red and black energy at the Cobra. The blasts knocked the snake creature flat onto it back.

"Nicely done", Riley said as he met up with the black ranger, "how did you know the weapons could do that?"

"Well it was simple", Chase began but he was interrupted when the Cobra began to get back it feet, "oh you have got to be kidding".

Without his weapon, Tyler had resorted to his Dino Blade to defend himself against General Fury. He held the blade across his body to defend himself against another vicious blow. He could feel himself sliding backwards in the soft sand with each attack from General Fury. Tyler looked over and saw that the gold ranger was still on his knees, "Ivan this is your chance", he called out. The gold ranger looked up but still remained unmoving.

General Fury used this distraction to slash Tyler across the chest with his multi-bladed sword. The pain caused Tyler to drop his sword, leaving him open to another powerful attack from the general. This one knocked Tyler flat on his back with smoke pouring off his suit. General Fury stood over the fallen red ranger just as the gold ranger stood at his shoulder. "I see you've come to your senses", Fury said to the gold ranger.

"Yes my eyes have been opened", a deep voice replied with just the hint of a British accent. Tyler realised that it was the first words Ivan had spoken.

"Then perhaps you should finish him off", Fury smirked.

Ivan opened the blade of his sword and calmly inserted two Energems into the weapon, "It would be my pleasure", he replied, snapped his blade closed.

"Please Ivan, you don't have to do this", Tyler pleaded.

"I'll do what's necessary red ranger", Ivan replied. He charged up his sword and swung it over his shoulder. Tyler waited for the blow but to his surprise, Ivan's sword connected with General Fury instead. The lion creature flew into the air and crashed into the sand. He was quickly on his feet but Ivan was immediately in his face. Their swords clashed repeated and General Fury soon found himself on the back foot.

"It's not possible", Fury cried, "how did you shake off the programming?" The gold ranger didn't respond and instead let his blade do the talking. He sliced diagonally across the chest of Fury, drawing blood from the creature. He attacked again but this time the general defended himself with his blade. The blow knocked a few of the smaller blades off the main sword, "My sword", Fury bellowed, "you will pay for this gold ranger", with that he teleported away.

"So is he on our side now?" Shelby asked, dodging a blow from a Cobra.

"Looks like it", Chase replied, blasting the other Cobra at close range with his Para Shot, "perhaps it's time for the Dino Lance".

Tyler nodded and was about to retrieve the Energem when Ivan stepped in front of him. He loaded a third gem into his sword and fully charged up the weapon. "Thunder Blade, full power", he called out. A stream of golden energy flew out of his sword and slammed into one of the Cobra's. It didn't even get the chance to fall down as it was instantly disintegrated by the blast.

"Wow I knew he was strong but that's insane", Riley gasped in awe. The familiar rush of ice crystals flew overhead and slammed into the still alive Cobra. In a flurry of freezing mist, the creature towered above the rangers.

Once again Ivan was quicker than the other rangers, "Ptera Zord, arise", he called as he threw an Energem into the air. The Ptera Zord screeched overhead as the gold ranger teleported into the cockpit. It converted itself into warrior mode, however, its appearance was slightly different. The black cape was gone and its human face was slightly softer in expression than before.

Its vicious attacks hadn't changed though. The dinosaur head on its chest fired off a blast of golden lightning that ripped into the monster. The creature roared in pain but it didn't slow him down. Pulling out a giant version of its sword it charged towards the Ptera Megazord. It swung the mighty blade at the zord, knocking it into a nearby rocky cliff face. The Ptera Megazord shook off the blow and flew low through the air, catching the Cobra in the legs with its bladed arms.

"Now that it's not attacking us, I can appreciate what an amazing machine it is", Koda commented.

Underneath his helmet Tyler smiled, "He'll be a great addition to the team and can I just say, I told you so", the other rangers groaned.

Deciding it was time to end the fight, the gold ranger called out, "Lightning Bladed Final Strike". The arms of the Megazord crackled with golden energy before spinning in a circle. In a flash it tore through the Cobra, the giant snake monster stumbled before falling to the ground and exploding.

Down on the beach the rangers cheered as the Megazord turned back into dinosaur mode. The Ptera Zord cried out in triumph before flying away. The gold ranger landed gracefully a few feet away from the other rangers. "Man you were awesome", Tyler cheered as they began to approach the gold ranger. To their surprise he slowly began to back away from them.

"Hey it's alright, you can trust us", Shelby tried to soothe the gold ranger. As a show of good faith, she ejected her Energem from the barrel of her Dinovolver and demorphed. The others followed suit and stood opposite the gold ranger in their civilian clothes.

After a few moments, the gold ranger hesitantly pushed the dinosaur head on the brace on his arm. He ejected the Energem and in a flash of golden light, he too demorphed. First appearances suggested that he was in his late twenties. He had thick stubble on his face and his dark blonde hair was held back with a blue bandana. His clothing was a mishmash of various different styles. He had navy coloured boots with padded shin protectors. His sandy coloured pants were tucked into his boots. He was wearing a golden coloured kimono style top that tied around his waist and was tight around his arms. Underneath the top was a thin white shirt that was split open half way down his torso. He wasn't heavily muscled but the rangers could see that he was in impressive shape. His Thunder Blade was still in his hand, ready to be used if necessary.

"Good to finally see you", Tyler smiled, "I'm Tyler Navarro, Dino Charge Red Ranger". He stepped forward cautiously toward Ivan.

"You're clothes look strange", Ivan said, looking over the other rangers.

"Speak for yourself", Chase scoffed, earning him a dig in the ribs from Koda. "Sorry I didn't mean to mock you", Chase apologised, "this is how everyone dresses in 2015".

"2015", Ivan muttered, "I'm in the future".

"Look they'll be plenty of time for explanations", Tyler continued, "but I wanted to extend an invitation to join our team". He extended his hand towards the gold ranger, "Will you join us".

Ivan thought about this for a moment before responding, "No", he replied.

Tyler continued to smile for a couple of moments, not realising what Ivan had said. His face dropped when it finally dawned on him, "I'm sorry did you say no?"

"That's right", Ivan extended himself to his full height and looked down on the rangers, "I've seen nothing to suggest that you are worthy of my talents".

"Hey steady on buddy", Shelby stomped towards the gold ranger, "we're a great team".

Ivan scoffed, "I bested you all myself twice in combat and beat those Cobra's singlehandedly. You'll have to forgive me for not being impressed". He raised his sword and the rangers thought he was going to attack. Instead he placed the blade in a scabbard on his back and turned away. He walked away from the rangers, leaving everyone on the beach stunned.

"Well how you like that", Koda sighed.

"And I thought Chase here had a massive ego", Riley laughed, only to get a nudge from the black ranger.

"Do I smell?" Tyler sniffed under his arms, "why does no one want to join this team?"

"Must be your charm and personality", Shelby smiled and placed an arm around the red ranger, "at least he's not fighting us anymore".

Tyler sighed, "You're right, let's head back to the Mansion, I think we could all do with a rest". The others nodded and walked across the beach in the opposite direction to the gold rangers. Unbeknown to them, Ivan was hiding in some tall grass at the edge of the beach. He hung his head as he watched them retreat.

"Why did you say that to them you stupid bloody wanker", he sighed. He kicked the grass in frustration before continuing to walk through away from the others.

_**A/N - **I've read a brief summary of the upcoming gold ranger and he will have a British accent. If you imagine him speaking like Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, that's how he sounds in my head. _


	15. On The Wings Of A Dream

_Chapter 15 – On The Wings Of A Dream  
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_Dino Mansion_

Jason walked into the lab and found Kiera sitting at the main computer. She was communicating via video link with a couple of familiar faces, a male and female. Both of them were around his age, the man had short spiky hair and a small goatee beard on his chin. The woman had long dark red hair and bright blue eyes. "If you lower the oscillation frequency then the docking sequence should complete automatically", the woman stated, much to the confusion of the man sitting next to her.

"I'll need to increase pressure to the dampers", Kiera mused, "thanks Hayley, I couldn't have done this without you".

Hayley Zitkor smiled, "Not a problem Kiera", Hayley saw Jason approaching his adopted daughter, "Hey Jason how's everything going?"

"Quiet at the moment", he replied, "I think the Deboss were counting on keeping the gold ranger under their control for a while". He then addressed the man, "Hey bro, it's been a while".

"Too long Jase", Tommy Oliver replied, "I'm beginning to wonder if you're deliberately keeping me away", he smiled.

"Well there's still three unclaimed Energems out there, I don't think you really want another power to add to your collection", Jason joked.

"Well you don't have a yellow ranger", Tommy laughed, "always thought I'd look good in yellow spandex".

"I need to get back to the cafe", Hayley stated and gave Tommy a quick kiss on the cheek, "tell that wife of yours that she needs to rest up".

"Yeah and I need to run the test sequence again", Kiera added, leaving the first two leaders of the Power Rangers alone.

"Talking of the old ball and chain, how is Kimmy?" Jason said.

Tommy laughed, "Shall I tell her you said that".

Jason shook his head, "Don't you dare bro, she'll kick my ass even if she is pregnant". Despite their break up during Tommy's tenure as the Red Zeo Ranger, Tommy and Kimberly Hart had gradually rebuilt their friendship. Not long after the loss of his Dino Thunder powers, the pair had resumed their relationship and eventually married in 2008. Kim had given birth to their first child, Brendan, in 2011 and she was 8 months pregnant with their second child.

The multi coloured ranger laughed before a comfortable silence descended between the two best friends. Eventually Tommy continued, "No luck persuading Ivan to join the team?"

Jason shook his head, "Haven't seen him since that day at the beach and that was over a week ago". He sighed, "How did you do it, mentoring a team?"

"You seem to be doing ok", Tommy replied.

"Really? The only one who wanted to be a ranger from the beginning was Tyler", Jason snorted, "everyone else had to be dragged into the team. I don't remember you having this much trouble with Conner and the others".

"It helped that I was their teacher, I could've failed them from my class if they refused", Tommy joked. "He's probably still adjusting to life in the 21st Century, give him time".

"It's not just that, the team don't seem to want him on board", Jason sighed, "other than Shelby that is".

"I had similar troubles getting Conner and Ethan to warm up to Trent", Tommy began, "fortunately Kira stood up for him". He paused for a moment, "Only takes one to persuade the others bro".

"I hope you're right", Jason replied.

_Watkins Residence_

Shelby had finished her morning workout and meandered through the hallways of her family home. Running a towel through her damp hair, she groaned after taking a wrong turn towards the kitchen. The pink ranger wondered why her parents would buy a home so ridiculously big for just the three of them. Even after five years she stood occasionally got lost in the maze of corridors. After finally arriving in the kitchen, she spent the next few minutes arguing with the cook. Eventually persuading the staff member that she was perfectly capable of making a sandwich, Shelby took her lunch outside and sat on the patio overlooking the garden.

She was half way through her sandwich when she thought she hear a gentle sob from somewhere below her. Cautiously looking over the metal barrier, he could make out some golden coloured clothing in the trees at the edge of her garden. Shelby ran down the steps before slowly her pace as she approached her target. "I'll never get used to his time period", the figure sighed. Shelby raised an eyebrow, the man's British accent was much less posh than she remembered.

"Ivan?" she called out. The gold ranger pulled out his sword and turned around sharply, "hey it's just me", she raised her hands defensively.

"Oh it's you", Ivan sighed in relief. He shook his head and stood up straight, "I mean, why have you disturbed me?" his voice was much harder than earlier.

"Come on Ivan drop the act, I heard you from the other side of my garden", the pink ranger replied.

"This is your home", Ivan's eyes went wide, "my apologises", he bowed slightly.

"Don't sweat it, it's my parents home anyway", she sighed, "so what've you been up to since we last met".

"Getting into trouble mostly", Ivan replied, "I'm not used to all these strange devices people use. Little communication boxes, moving images on a screen and horseless carriages. It's all too much for me Miss Shelby".

"It's just Shelby", she smiled, "let me show you how another invention of the 21st Century", much to Ivan's reluctance, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards her home.

Half an hour later they were sat around the kitchen table with a tub of ice cream between them. Ivan was digging into the tub eagerly with his spoon, "This is wondrous", he gushed, "my compliments to Mr Ben and Mr Jerry".

"I'll pass on the message", Shelby ate the ice cream on her spoon before pointing it at the gold ranger, "I have to ask, if you're Russian why do you speak with a British accent?"

"I trained for a couple of years in London", he replied, "I learned the English language during my stay there. Guess I just picked up the accent from there".

Shelby smiled and allowed Ivan to continue eating. Once he had finished off the tub she spoke again, "You're not so bad really", she began, "now all I need to do is convince the guys about that".

"I'm sorry for the way I spoke previously", Ivan flushed with embarrassment, "I bet they think I'm a right tosser".

"If by that you mean an arrogant idiot then yes", Shelby wondered if they would need to a buy a book of British slang to help them understand the gold ranger. "Why don't we go to the Mansion, I'm sure we can smooth everything out". She then looked over his outfit, "First we need to get you some new clothes".

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Ivan pulled on his loose top.

"It's not very modern, you'll stand out like a sore thumb", the pink ranger responded. They were interrupted by her communicator. Shelby grabbed the yellow cell phone off the kitchen counter, "Shelby here".

"We could really use your help", Tyler's voice called out, "we're outside the stadium, get here as soon as you can".

"Right I'm on it", she replied before turning to Ivan, "fancy a monster fight?"

Ivan smirked, "It would be a pleasure my lady".

_Hunston Stadium_

In the parking lot of the city's football stadium, the four male Dino Charge rangers were having difficulty with the Legion's latest monster. His body was comprised of red, blue and yellow patches, giving the appearance of the armour of a samurai. Attached to his back was a "U" shaped tube with similar patterns to his body. His primary weapon was his sword, which he was using to devastating effect on the rangers. All four of them had been struck down by the monsters double edged blade and were struggling to catch their breath. They were all extremely relieved when Shelby arrived on her Dino Cycle, "Shelby, just in time", Riley choked. He then saw who she had brought with her, "what's he doing here?"

"Helping us", Shelby replied shortly to the green ranger, "looks like you could use it".

"Yeah but can we trust him", Chase asked, rising slowly to his feet.

"Without question Mr Chase", Ivan replied. He turned his attention to the monster, "So we meet again Samuton".

"Ah gold ranger", the monster replied, "good to see you again. We finally get to finish our duel from all those centuries ago".

"You know this guy?" Tyler called out.

"Samuton was the first monster I fought after getting my powers", Ivan sighed, "I'm ashamed to say he got away". He brought his brace up to his chest and opened up the dinosaur head. He inserted an Energem inside and closed the head, "Ptera Brace", he pulled back on the handle of his morpher and let go, "Dino Charge".

"Like your thinking" Shelby smiled and spun the barrel of her Dinovolver, "Dino Spirts, Dino Charge". In a flash of pink and gold light, the two rangers morphed and fell in line with their team mates.

"Two more rangers won't help you", Samuton called out and charged towards the rangers. Ivan stepped in front of the others and blocked Samuton's blade with his own. The monster was moving with a speed the rangers didn't think was possible but to his credit, the gold ranger was matching him blow for blow. "I see your skills have improved gold ranger", Samuton stated as their blades locked together.

"I've learned a few new tricks as well", Ivan smirked under his helmet, "Thunder Shot", he called and fired a burst of energy from his Ptera Brace into the face of the monster. His Thunder Sword glowed with energy as he sliced across the stomach of Samuton.

"Very sneaky of you", Samuton replied, "but you never could handle the power of my blade". Samuton spun in a circle and unleashed a powerful energy burst at the gold ranger. Ivan was knocked off his feet and smoke poured off his suit. He rolled to a halt near the feet of the other rangers.

"Ivan are you alright", Shelby knelt down next to the gold ranger.

"I'm fine", he used his sword for support and got to his feet, "I need to finish that monster.

"You mean we do", Tyler began, "If you want to be part of this team, then you need to work with us". Ivan hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Awesome, right lets armour up everyone". The five primary rangers rolled their Dinovolvers down their right arm and they were soon covered with armour. Their special weapons appeared in their hands and they charged the monster once again.

Ivan took a moment to catch his breath and watch his new team in action. He admired the swordsmanship of the green ranger, perhaps they could learn something new from each other. He noticed the black ranger hovered a few paces behind his team mates but then he saw why. He was deadly accurate with his blaster, so it was better for him to keep his distance.

Next he noticed the blue ranger and his shield. He was using it to protect his team mates from the worst of Samuton's blade. The strong desire to protect others was something Ivan admired in a person. Finally he looked at the red and pink rangers. They seemed to balance each other very well, Shelby was the better hand to hand fighter but Tyler was quick, powerful and accurate with his strikes. Soon they had Samuton flat on his back and struggling to get up, "Hey Ivan, care to join us", Tyler called out.

Under his helmet, the gold ranger smiled, "Thought you'd never ask". He opened up his Thunder Blade and inserted his three Energems before closing the weapon. The others had combined their weapons to form the Dino Lance. Swinging his sword in a wide arc above his head, Ivan called out, "Thunder Blade, full power". A powerful stream of lightning flew at Samuton at the same time as Tyler launched the Dino Lance. They hit the monster at the same time and he fell to the ground, exploding on impact.

There was barely enough time to celebrate before the familiar ice crystal flew over head. The monster grew and towered above the rangers, "At least this gives us a chance to use the new Megazord combination Kiera told us about", Tyler stated. He turned to the gold ranger, "we need you and the Ptera Zord for his".

Ivan nodded and propelled his Energem into the air, calling the Ptera Zord into battle, "Quick question, who's Kiera?"

"Our tech expert, you'll meet her soon", Koda replied and called on the Stego Zord. Tyler and Shelby did the same to summon the Tyranno and Tricera Zords.

The rangers assembled the Dino Charge Megazord, leaving the Ptera Zord hovering overhead in dinosaur mode. Ivan was about to convert it to warrior mode when the radio crackled into life, "Ivan you should be able to combine with us now", Tyler began, "just instruct the Ptera Zord and it'll do the rest".

The gold ranger pushed forward on his command pedestal and the Ptera Zord attached itself to the back of the Megazord, giving it a pair of giant golden wings. "Thunder Charge Megazord", the six rangers called out. With this new combination Samuton didn't stand a chance. They could use the wings to fly out the way of his attacks. Overall it was much quicker than the standard Megazord combination. Charging up the wings of the Megazord with golden energy, it flew through the monster and sliced it half. The two pieces of the monster fell apart and Samuton was finally defeated.

"I'll admit I had my doubts", Tyler said to the gold ranger, "but you're a welcome addition to the team".

"Thank you", Ivan began, "and I want to apologise for my behaviour last time".

"All in the past", Koda smiled, "hey we should go back to the Mansion and celebrate".

"No can do", Shelby replied and stepped onto Ivan's podium, "I'm taking Ivan shopping for some new clothes".

"Then I'm coming with you", Chase added, "Ivan will need a man's option and who better to advise on fashion than me".

Ivan gulped as the black and pink ranger put a hand on his shoulder, what had he gotten himself into?

_Dino Mansion_

Shelby, Chase and Ivan had been gone for the rest of the day and the others were beginning to get worried. As they sat in the back yard and watched the sunset, they heard footsteps coming up the path, "Hey we're back", Shelby called out.

"Where have you been?" Koda began, "we were starting to get worried".

"Sorry but we decided to give our newest friend a full makeover", Chase smiled and stepped aside. Ivan was looking a little nervous in his modern clothes. He was now sported a pair of black jeans with a pair of navy hi-top trainers. He was wearing a knee length black leather jacket with a dark yellow patterned t-shirt underneath. His sword was now tucked into a newly constructed scabbard on the back of the coat. His hair had been trimmed slightly so it now just below his ears, "He still wouldn't part with that bandana though", Chase commented.

"It was a gift from my first teacher", the gold ranger huffed. He then saw two unfamiliar faces in the garden, a man and young woman.

"Ivan I want you to meet our mentor Jason Lee Scott", Riley began, "he was the first leader of a team of Power Rangers". Riley then moved onto the girl, "And this is his daughter Kiera Cranston, she's the tech expert we mentioned earlier".

"Good to meet you", Ivan shook their hands, Jason had a strong grip, Kiera on the other hand looked away from his nervously as she shook his hand.

"Good to have you with us Ivan", Jason began, "if you need somewhere to stay then you're welcome to move in here. We've got plenty of space".

Ivan nodded, "Thank you Mr Scott".

"Jason please, we're all friends here". He paused and called everyone over, "This is going to sound cheesy but my team used to do this all the time". He extended his hand outwards in front of him.

"You're right old man, this is cheesy", Tyler smiled but placed his hand on top of Jason. One by one the others did the same until Ivan cautiously placed his on top of the pile. The group jumped in the air and shouted, "Power Rangers". The team had now expanded to include a permanent sixth member, there was no stopping them now.

_**A/N - **How is everyone enjoying Dino Charge so far? I've been pleasantly surprised so far but there's still a long way to go. Thank you for your continuing support for my version of Dino Charge, please keep the reviews coming. _


	16. Harsh Lessons

_Chapter 16 – Harsh Lessons_

_Dino Mansion_

The sound of an alarm echoed through the quiet hallways of the Dino Mansion, however, it wasn't the usual monster alarm. Jason sprinted downstairs from his bedroom and was greeted with a face full of smoke. A sheepish looking Tyler was trying to waft the thick black smoke away and silence the smoke alarm. Jason put his hands on his hips and glared at the red ranger, "What the hell are you up to?" he grumbled.

"Sorry old man", Tyler began, "we were trying to teach Ivan how to cook using modern appliances, unfortunately it didn't go very well".

"I can see that", Jason replied and moved into the kitchen. The smoke was much thicker and Chase was standing over one of the counters with a fire extinguisher in hand. There was a charred lump of plastic on the counter top, "Do I want to know what that was?"

"That was your waffle iron", Chase placed the extinguisher back on the counter.

Jason shook his head, "It's lucky for you three that Kiera stayed with Shelby overnight".

"Yeah she's mean before she has her morning coffee", Chase shuddered.

"So where is our resident chef", Jason asked. The black ranger pointed to the yard, "This is coming out of your deposit", Jason added before stepping outside. He found the gold ranger on the patio, he had made a small fire and was rotating some kind of meat over the flame.

"Good morning Jason", Ivan began, "sorry about the mess". He waved a hand over his barbeque, "I've decided to stick with what I know, at least for now".

"Yeah I really don't want a repeat of the laptop incident", Jason rolled his eyes, "so what do we have for breakfast?"

"Spit roasted squirrel", Ivan proudly declared, "or at least it will be once the fire's warm enough". The former red ranger shook his head, it was too early for him to deal with the madness that was now his home. Leaving the gold ranger to his fire, he decided to go back to bed for a while.

An hour and a half later, he returned to the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see that the others had cleaned up their mess. There was still a horrible burn mark on the counter, he would have to ask Koda to fix that when he next saw the blue ranger. Stepping back out into the yard, he found Tyler, Chase and Ivan sitting on plastic chairs, eating what must have been the squirrel that Ivan was about to cook, "Hey Jase", Chase greeted casually, "come try some of this". The black handed him a spit with some meat on it. Jason gave it a sniff before taking a bite, to his shock it was actually quite good.

"I developed a love of oriental spices when studied in Japan", Ivan began, "I was surprised to see that your cupboard had a lot of those spices as well".

"I'm not an uneducated redneck", Jason smiled, "one of my oldest friends, her family was originally from Vietnam and she introduced me to oriental cuisine. She was the first yellow ranger you know, which reminds me I must introduce you to Governor Kwan soon".

Tyler choked on his food, "The state Governor was a Power Ranger?"

"One of the finest I've ever worked with. It's probably why so many pro-Ranger bills have passed in the last few years". Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter that he had picked up from the front door, "This came in the mail for you Tyler".

The red ranger looked at the envelope curiously, he hadn't told anyone where he was living now. He opened the envelope and read the contents of the letter, "It's from my Dad", he began, "according to this he's found an unusual gem". He jumped up from his chair, "He's coming to the city today", he dropped the letter and ran inside to grab his jacket.

The others quickly followed behind him, "Hey Tyler wait up, we'll come with you", Chase called out.

"My Dad's a very suspicious person", Tyler replied, "if he sees people that he doesn't recognise then he won't reveal himself".

"Don't you think this is a coincidence", Jason began, by now Tyler had opened the front door, "and how did he know where you lived".

"That's my Dad for you", Tyler smiled and shut the door behind him.

"Something's not right", Ivan said, "I can't put my finger on it".

Chase sighed, "Tyler's got a bit of blind spot when it comes to his Dad. Probably thinks he can walk on water".

"Ivan right, something stinks", Jason began, "and I'm not talking about the odour of melted plastic and caramel". He turned to the gold ranger, "Can you follow him, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble", Ivan nodded and grabbed his jacket. Jason then turned to Chase, "Call the others, tell them to be ready for action". Chase grabbed his communicator and followed Ivan out of the Mansion.

_Hunston Beach_

Tyler had been walking up and down the sand for an hour but still there was no sign of his Dad. The letter stated that he would be on the beach from around 11am, however, they were well past that time. The letter had been pretty vague about what sort of gem he had found but Tyler was wondering if it was another Energem. There were still three out there somewhere and if anyone could find one, it would be his Dad.

Tyler had only received five letters from his Dad in the previous nine years. Most of them were pretty vague and generic but they still kept the red ranger's spirits up. Even though he moved around quite a lot since leaving Tuvalu, his Dad's letters always found him. That's why he wasn't too surprised to see the letter arrive this morning.

Suddenly a glint caught Tyler's eye, it was coming from a nearby cave. As he approached the cave, he saw his Dad standing in the entrance. "Dad", Tyler called out and waived his arms. His Dad turned and walked inside, "Hey come back", Tyler scrambled up some rocks and into the cave. He looked around but there was no one in sight. The cave was fairly small, just enough room for Tyler to move about. It was also only illuminated by a single torch, "Dad where did you go", he touched the walls but there were no obvious cracks in the surface.

He was about to leave when the sound of laughter echoed through the tight confines of the cave, "I'd know that laugh anywhere", he muttered. The sunlight coming into the cave was blocked by the familiar shape of General Fury. Unfortunately for the red ranger, he hadn't come alone. Standing either side of him was General Sorrow and Lady Jodella.

"This was an excellent plan Fury", Jodella cheered, "firstly we steal his happiness from receiving a letter from his Dad. Next we harvest his sorrow that his Dad isn't here and finally his anger from getting tricked so easily".

"Where's my father?" Tyler's voice boomed.

"Don't you get it red ranger", Fury chuckled, "he isn't here and he never was".

"This has all been one big trap to lure you away from the other rangers", Sorrow continued, "doesn't that make you sad". Tyler tried to keep his emotions under control but he looked down and saw his hand glow pink, then blue and finally red.

"Emotions from a Power Ranger", Fury began, "our master well be pleased with the strength boost". He stepped into the cave and approached Tyler menacingly. The red ranger reached for his Dinovolver but Fury grabbed it out of his hand, "You won't be needing this", he threw it out of the cave and grabbed Tyler but the neck, "now to finish you off".

The General paused as he heard the sound of blade impacting skin outside the cave. He twisted his head and saw the gold ranger standing at the entrance, "Your senses aren't as good as they used to be Fury", Ivan smiled.

"On the contrary gold ranger", Fury began, "I've got the red ranger right where I want him". Ivan wanted to argue but Fury was right, the space was too narrow for him to swing a sword and any kind of energy blast would likely hit Tyler at the same time.

Seeing that Fury was distracted, Tyler managed to shuffle them closer to the wall. He pushed off the nearest cliff face with his feet and broke free of Fury's strong grasp. He rolled out of the cave just as Ivan unleashed a blast from his Ptera Brace. It triggered a cave in and General Fury was trapped behind a wall of rock, "That won't hold him forever", Ivan commented. He extended a hand and pulled Tyler to his feet, "I think you lost this", he handed over Tyler's Dinovolver.

"Thanks", Tyler sighed, "I can't believe I fell right into their trap".

"Surprised us too", they heard Riley's voice call out, "you talk big about team work but then you run off without back up".

"But it was my Dad", Tyler protested, "at least I thought it was".

"And if you stopped to think for five seconds, you would've realised it was a trap", Koda scolded.

"Perhaps we should talk about this later", Ivan said to the other, "we've still got company". Sorrow and Jodella had stirred and were standing directly in front of the cave entrance.

"Hi, I think you forgot about us", Jodella called out cheerfully.

"Oh how could I forget about you", Shelby rolled her eyes, "you're hardly inconspicuous". Jodella huffed and pulled out a giant heart shaped axe, "Ok that looks sharp".

Tyler stood in front of his team as they all prepared their Dinovolvers, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", he called.

"Ptera Brace, Dino Charge", Ivan added. Once they had finished morphing, they split into two groups and took on the two Generals. Despite her looks and cheerful demeanour, Jodella was a mean fighter. This was the first time the rangers had faced her in combat and they hoped it would be the last. Everything Koda, Riley and Shelby threw at her, she just chuckled and shook it off. With a swing of her axe, she swiped all three of the rangers across the chest, sending them tumbling down the rocks and onto the beach.

"Guys this isn't working", Riley groaned.

"I've got an idea, remember when Chase combined his and Tyler's weapons", Shelby began, "maybe we can do the same".

"It's worth a try", Riley replied. The rangers armoured up and they called on the Dino Lance gem. Their three weapons locked together like a smaller version of the lance. Koda grabbed the weapon and twirled it over his head. As Jodella brought her axe down, he used the shield on the weapon to deflect the blow. He then raked the sharp edges across her body before jamming the end of the halberd into her ribs. Jodella cried out in pain before collapsing to the ground, alive but defeated.

Over with the others, Sorrow slashed Tyler and Chase across the stomach, sending them into the nearby cliff. Chase was back on his feet but Tyler was slow to get up, it was like his fighting spirit had gone. Ivan was taking on Sorrow by himself but the iron plated General was relentless. Deciding he needed to take a chance, Chase armoured up before summoning Energem number 12, "Always wanted to try this out". He inserted the gem into his Dinovolver and pulled the trigger. A bronze coloured armour appeared on his left arm and a pair of bronze blades covered his hands. When they were placed together, they gave the appearance of the mouth of a Deinosuchus.

Chase jumped into the air and burrowed into the dirt. He tunnelled under the surface before emerging right underneath General Sorrow. The iron man was catapulted into the air, giving Ivan a moment to charge up his sword. Swinging it like a baseball bat, he caught Sorrow as he fell back down. The General was thrown across the beach and out into the sea, "That'll cool him off for a while", Ivan chuckled.

With the immediately danger over, the rangers powered down and turned towards Tyler, "What the hell was that about", Chase roared, "things go a little wrong and you give up".

"I'm sorry", Tyler replied, "I was still thinking about my Dad".

"Tyler you need to grow up and face facts", Chase replied, "your Dad abandoned you and he's never coming back". The black ranger turned away and left the others behind.

"I don't like agreeing with him but Chase is right", Koda sighed.

"You need to curb your impulsiveness", Ivan added, "if we hadn't been at the house then you'd probably be dead right now", the gold ranger shook his head and left the clearing. Riley looked like he had been betrayed and frowned at the red ranger. He too turned around and walked away.

This left Tyler and Shelby, "I suppose you agree with them as well?" Tyler asked.

Shelby sighed, "They could've been nicer about it", she took a step closer, "I know he's your hero but he's not infallible. Maybe it's time to look at things from a different perceptive". She gave him a small smile before following after the others. Tyler looked at the fake letter and screwed it up into a little ball. He walked in the opposite direction from the rangers, he needed some time to himself.

_Unknown location_

The sun was blazing down on the desert as a lone figure drudged through the sand. He was dressed in a long tan coloured duster and had a scarf covered his head and face. The man approached an obelisk in the sand a crouched down to inspect it closer. Rubbing his hand over the inscriptions he muttered to himself, "The guardian stones will lead you to the titan". His voice was croaky from lack of use and thirst. He took a swig of water from his cantina and found a small shady patch the other side of the obelisk.

When he was in the shade he pulled out a battered photograph of himself when he was younger with a small child in his arm. He rubbed the picture sadly and sighed, "Soon son, we'll meet again soon", he muttered. He placed his scarf back over his face and continued the slow walk across the desert. He knew that he would see his son again soon, it was the only thing that kept Bastian Navarro going on days like today.


	17. The Ties That Bind

_Chapter 17 – The Ties That Bind_

_Valley High School_

Summer was officially over in Hunston Valley and the city's school aged children were casting a depressing shadow throughout the streets. Valley High School was a prestigious and well respected school in the state of California. Many of the students were from the well off families that resided in the city. Unlike most schools they had a mandatory uniform which consisted of black trousers, a white shirt, a green blazer and a green and silver tie.

The final bell had rung and Riley was leaving the building as quickly as he possibly could. He threw his school bag over one shoulder and dragged his blazer behind him. He was trying to avoid one particular student who had not stopped harassing him all day. He had almost made it off the grounds when he heard her voice, "Hey Riley, wait up".

The green ranger paused, "Hello Marissa", he groaned. He turned around and was greeted with the smiling face of Marissa Moyles. She was a couple of inches shorter than Riley and had long strawberry blonde hair. Like Riley she was also dressed in the Valley's school uniform. Marissa was the head of the sports and social committee and was in charge of organising the various after school clubs. Riley hadn't told anyone this but when he was younger he had a crush on her but her exuberant personality sometimes grated on him.

"I've been trying to catch you all day", Marissa replied, "I was beginning to think you were avoiding me", she gave the green ranger a playful nudge and a small smile.

"Yeah sorry, my head's all over the place, first day and all", he replied.

"Don't worry, I forgive you", Marissa smiled, "I was just interested to know when the first fencing club meeting will be? I need to make sure it doesn't clash with any other club". She carried on talking but Riley had begun to tune her out and his attention had wondered somewhere else. He snapped back to the present when he caught sight of a couple of familiar faces. Shelby and Chase were approaching the entrance of the school and the pink ranger gave him a wave as she passed him. "So I was thinking maybe we could discuss this in more detail", Marissa continued, "perhaps one day after school". She saw that Riley was being waived at by another girl and her shoulders immediately sagged, "Friend of yours?" she asked with a small voice.

"Yeah kind of", Riley mumbled.

Marissa looked away from the green ranger, suddenly very interested in the tarmac, "Well I've got to go, catch you later Riley", she turned around and quickly walked away, leaving a very confused green ranger behind.

"Talk about crashing and burning", Chase grabbed the green ranger by the shoulder, "who's the hottie?"

"That's Marissa, she's in charge of organising the after school clubs", Riley began, "and she's a junior like myself", he added quickly.

"I wasn't thinking about me", Chase replied, "I was thinking she'd be perfect for you".

"Me", Riley asked, "why?"

"Dude she was totally into you", Chase smiled. Riley looked at him blankly, "You mean you didn't notice", the green ranger shook his head, "oh you poor blind bastard". Riley walked away from the black ranger but Chase wasn't giving up, "Don't you find her attractive?"

"Of course I do", Riley blurted out before he had a chance to stop himself.

"So why don't you ask her out?" Chase asked.

"Why are you and Shelby here", Riley sighed, changing the subject quickly.

"Shel wanted to visit her alma mata", Chase replied, "I think she's missing not having to go to school anymore". Chase paused for a moment, "And we also wanted to see if you're alright, you've been pretty pissed with Tyler for the last few days". After the red ranger had been tricked by the Deboss Generals, everyone had chewed him out for his recklessness. Chase had been the worse but after a heart of heart over a few beers, he had quickly apologised to the red ranger. Everyone else had apologised as well, except Riley.

"I'm fine", Riley replied shortly, "shouldn't I be asking you if you're ok with our fearless leader".

Chase sighed, "Yeah I was pretty annoyed but in case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty prone to making snap judgements myself. I get why he did it, even if he did go about it the wrong way".

"I just don't get where he's coming from", Riley snapped, "he accuses me of being young and immature but he then goes and walks into a trap".

"Don't you get it Riley", Chase began, "all of his bravado and bounciness is just a mask. Deep down he's still hurting that his Dad left him behind all those years ago. I don't think he realised how much it hurt him until recently". He sighed, "That's why we all need to stick together".

Riley nodded slowly, "Fine but you owe me".

"And I know just how to repay you", Chase threw his arm around the green ranger, "you're going on a date with that red head and I'm going to coach you into having the perfect date". Riley sighed, he really did like Marissa, he just wasn't that confident talking to girls. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

_Hunston Park_

A couple of days later, Riley found himself on a very awkward picnic with Marissa. Chase had secretly sent the girl an invitation the same day that he had been at the school. Needless to say it came as a surprise to Riley when she threw her arms around him in the hallway. Kiera and Shelby had then decided that he needed a makeover so he had spent most of yesterday evening getting dragged around the mall. He ended up with a new pair of jeans and a green button shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The most cringe worthy experience was getting dating tips from Tyler, Koda and Jason. Each of them had different styles when it came to women so Chase had stepped in and said that he was going to talk the green ranger through the date.

Riley wasn't sure where Chase had gotten the ear piece from but it was extremely uncomfortable. He kept scratching his ear so often that Marissa eventually noticed, "Riley are you ok, you keep itching your head".

"Yeah I'm fine", he replied, "I just have a flaky scalp, that's all".

"_Smooth Romeo"_, Chase called out through the ear piece. The black ranger was positioned in a tree overlooking the pair. Using his skills learned from the army, he had a great view of the couple but they weren't able to see him, _"Pay her a compliment, chicks love it when guys do that"._

"You smell really nice", Riley blurted out.

Marissa blinked a couple of times, "Thanks, I think".

"_You really suck do you know that", _Chase taunted.

"Look Riley I must confess I didn't ask you here to talk about school", the girl began, earning a sarcastic comment from Chase that Riley tried to ignore. "Riley Griffin I really..", suddenly a beam of red light hit Marissa. She didn't seem to be affected until she reached across the blanket and slapped Riley hard across the face, "I really hate you", she screeched, "ooh you smell nice", she imitated the green ranger, "get a life, dork". She stood up and stomped away across the park, leaving Riley to massage his face.

Chase jumped out of his tree and walked over to his team mate, "Ok I wasn't expecting that".

"Yeah it was like a switch flipped in her head", Riley rubbed his jaw, "it's a good thing we don't have a boxing club".

"I know you were hardly Mr. Charming but I don't think you were to blame". Chase pointed across the park where a white coloured monster with a giant pair of golden scissors was sneaking up to a couple. He brought the scissors up and snipped at the air, sending a red beam towards the couple. Just like Riley and Marissa earlier, the woman punched the man on the nose before leaving him behind.

"An anger themed monster?" Riley asked.

"Could be both", Chase replied, "either way he needs to be stopped". The pair ran as quickly as they could across the park, calling the others to help in the process. They pulled out their Dinovolvers and morphed on the run, "Hey that's far enough".

"Try and stop me rangers", the monster replied. The two rangers punched the monster, called Snipster, staggering the creature. Snipster's outer body was jagged like poorly cut paper and he used this to his advantage. He raked his arms down the bodies of the two rangers, pushing them back with sparks flying off their suits.

Riley summoned his Dino Blade and Chase used his Dinovolver to provide cover for the green ranger. Snipster was quick and he was able to parry most of Riley's attacks. The occasional jab was able to get past the golden scissors of Snipster but it wasn't having much effect. "Time for plan B", Riley said and inserted an Energem into his blade.

The black ranger plugged a gem into his Dinovolver and called, "Para Blast", pulling the trigger, he launched a black energy beam at the monster.

"Raptor Slash", Riley added, his green energy mixed with Chase's and accelerated towards Snipster. To their surprise, the monster blocked the energy blast with his scissors. Snipster then turned the scissors into an offensive weapon, throwing them like a boomerang at the pair. The scissors slashed Chase and Riley across the chest, knocking them to the ground. "I can't believe I'm saying this", Riley choked, "but I wish Tyler was here right now".

"You called", Tyler said and jumped in front of the fallen rangers. He parried an attack by Snipster with his Tyranno Fang before punching the creature in the stomach.

"Talk about timing", Chase added, rolling onto his knees.

"Don't worry, we've got this", Shelby said, spinning the drill blade on her weapon. She teamed up with Koda to take on the monster. The blue ranger acted like a blocker for the pink ranger, using his shield to deflect most of the damaging attacks. Shelby drove her Tricera Drill into the monster's arm, causing his scissors to fly into the air.

"You will not hurt anyone else, monster", the gold ranger announced his presence and used his Thunder Blade to destroy Snipster's scissors, releasing several beams of light into the sky.

"My precious scissors", Snipster cried.

"Maybe that means you've got a second chance with Marissa now", Chase said, slapping the green ranger on the back.

"Great", Riley sighed, "I think". The black and green rangers armoured up and called their special weapons into their hand. Chase returned the favour to Snipster and raked the sharp edges of his Para Shot across the abdomen of the monster. With Snipster staggered, he blasted him at close range. Snipster stumbled straight into the path of Riley who used his Raptor Claw and Dino Blade to slash the monster twice in quick succession.

"Enough playing with the monster", Ivan called out and snapped his blade closed, "Thunder Blade, full power", golden energy slammed into the monster, forcing him to his knees. The other rangers assembled the Dino Lance and with one final strike, the monster was destroyed. They waited a few moments but surprisingly the dreaded ice crystals didn't hit the monster.

"Huh well that's a pleasant surprise", Tyler said to everyone. He ejected his Energem and powered down, "so how did the date go?" he asked Riley.

"Pretty well I thought", Riley responded, "right up until she slapped me", he showed off the red mark on the left side of his face.

"Ouch", Shelby gently prodded the growing bruise, "she hits harder than one of the Legion's monsters".

"It's wasn't Farm Boy's fault though", Chase defended the green ranger, "the monster did attack her with some kind of energy beam".

"Well what are we waiting for", Tyler grabbed the green ranger by the arm, "we need to find her, there's still hope for you yet". The red ranger dragged the youngest team member off, closely followed by the others.

_Hunston Mall_

The rangers spent the next hour trying to locate Marissa and they eventually tracked her down to the food court at the mall. Riley found himself rooted to the spot as he watched the red headed girl idly stirring her drink. "Don't worry man, we've got this", Chase rubbed Riley's shoulders.

"Thanks but I need to try this on my own", he took out the ear piece and handed it back to Chase. He then turned to Tyler, "I'm sorry for how I've acted these last few days", he apologised.

"Don't worry about it man", he shook the green ranger by the hand, "I'm not the type of person to hold grudges or stay mad at anyone for too long". He gave Riley a reassuring smile, "Now there's a girl over there who needs cheering up". Riley nodded and walked across the mall towards the food court.

"Go get her tiger", Shelby called out, in response the green ranger gave her a rude hand gesture, "well that was uncalled for".

"What did that mean?" Ivan whispered to Koda.

"You probably don't want to know", the blue ranger replied, "and I wouldn't suggest repeating it either".

Riley arrived at Marissa's table and grabbed the chair opposite her, "Is this seat taken?"

"Hey", she smiled as she looked up from her drink, "how did you find me?"

"I had a little help from my friends", he pointed over to where the others were standing, all of the rangers had eager expressions on their faces. "Apparently they don't know how to be subtle either".

The red head pointed at Ivan, "Is that a sword on that guy's back?"

Riley rolled his eyes at the gold ranger, he still wasn't sure why he insisted on carrying his sword everywhere with him, "Yeah he's off to a cosplay tournament later".

Marissa laughed before her face fell, "I wasn't expecting to see you again". She reached over and tilted Riley's head, "Did I do that?"

"Yeah", Riley replied, "but it wasn't your fault, I heard on the news that the rangers took care of a monster in the park about the time we were there. Apparently it affected people's emotions, made them lash out when they didn't mean to". The red head looked slightly relieved so Riley continued, "I'll be honest with you, I'm not great at talking to girls. I'm not sure how this dating stuff is meant to work".

"How about we find out together", Marissa blurted out. Her hands jumped up to her mouth, "I'm sorry I don't know where that came from".

Riley smiled, "It's fine", he laughed nervously, "can we take this slow and see what happens?"

"Of course", Marissa reached across the table and kissed Riley on the cheek. He blushed a bright shade of red, not helped by the sound of loud cheering coming from where the others rangers were standing. Riley turned around and glared daggers at them, causing them to turn around and walk away as quickly as possible, "I like your friends", Marissa laughed.

"Yeah, they're certainly something", Riley shook his head before turning back to his date for the rest of the day.

_**A/N - **Aww young love. Next time out there's a cameo from an MMPR favourite and a guest starring role for a former ranger...well a version of a former ranger..._


	18. Old Wounds Cut Deep

_Chapter 18 – Old Wounds Cut Deep_

_Dino Mansion_

California is known for its warm and sunny climate but on this particular weekend, heavy rain poured down from a dark and leaden sky. Inside the Dino Mansion, Kiera was sitting on a sofa in the front room. She twirled a loose strand of brown hair around her finger whilst staring blankly at a map of the city. There was a strange energy reading coming from the hills on the outskirts of Hunston Valley but she couldn't tell what was causing it.

The front door opened and a soaking wet Koda stepped into the main entranceway. Taking off his drenched waterproof coat, he rung out the excess water from his hair, "Hey Kiera, I'm done", he called out.

"Thanks for fixing the roof", Kiera began, "now I can sit in the lab without getting a free shower". She looked over the blue ranger, not a single inch of him was dry, "Go and have a warm shower, I'll fix you some hot chocolate". Koda smiled and walked upstairs to warm himself up. Kiera was true to her word and went the blue ranger reappeared fifteen minutes later, there was a mug of hot chocolate waiting for him.

Sitting on the sofa next to Kiera, he glanced over her shoulder at her laptop, "Still no closer to figuring out that weird energy reading?" he asked.

Kiera shook her head, "I can't go check it out either because it's on someone property". She clicked on a satellite image that showed an aerial view of a large mansion. A yellow dotted line appeared around the house, "Who needs that much land anyway?"

"Someone with more money than sense", Koda laughed. The front door opened and was very violently slammed shut. Shelby stomped into the front room and tossed her jacket onto the floor. She flopped down on other sofa and let out a very audible groan. "Hey Shel", Koda began, "long shift?"

"Yeah I like the new uniform", Kiera added. Instead of the usual fifties style uniform that the pink ranger usually wore, the diners uniform now consisted of a pink t-shirt and white shorts.

"Finch has decided to rebrand the diner", Shelby began, "thanks to us, the city now loves dinosaurs so we're now the Dino Cafe". Shelby reached into her shorts and pulled out a small card, "But that's not why I'm annoyed".

She tossed the card over to Koda and Kiera, "You have been cordially invited to the 25th birthday party of our beloved daughter", Koda read out loud, "formal attire only, signed Gerald and Marie Landsdown".

"As in Summer Landsdown?" Kiera asked, the pink ranger nodded in response, "I thought you hated her?"

"I do", Shelby replied, "she's been nothing but a Grade A bitch to me since we moved to the city". She stood up and started pacing, "But apparently my parents think it will be good to get out on to the party circuit". She turned and faced the others, "Don't they know this isn't what I want?"

"Depends if you've told them or not", Koda stated bluntly.

Shelby snorted, "You make it sound so easy".

"Let me tell you a story", Koda began, "I was in a similar position to you when I decided to work at Chloe's store after college. Our parents were furious because in their mind, they had paid for my education and I was wasting it as a repairman". He paused for a moment before continuing, "But when I told them my reasons, they soon backed down. I'm sure your parents are reasonable people and only want you to be happy".

The pink ranger sighed before turning to her younger friend, "What do you think Kiera?" Their chief scientist didn't respond, instead she was staring at her laptop, "Earth to Kiera", Shelby waived her hands in front of Kiera's face.

"Sorry I was lost in thought for a moment", she replied. She held up the invitation card, "Is this where the Landsdown's live?"

"Yeah, why?" Shelby asked.

Kiera smiled, "Guess on whose land that weird energy is coming from". She placed her laptop down and grabbed Shelby's hands, "We need to go to that party".

"Its invitation only", the pink ranger replied, "I mean I can bring a plus one but no offence Kiera, I don't swing that way".

"No no no, that's not what I meant", Kiera shook her hands, "we're all going, it'll be like a ranger mission".

"And how are you going to get us all in?" Shelby raised an eyebrow.

By now Kiera was almost at the bottom of the stairs, "Easy, Uncle Jason knows the party's guest musician. I'm sure he owes the rangers a favour or two". She bounced up the stairs, "I need to pack some equipment", she called out.

Koda looked at the card again before looking at Shelby, "Jason knows Maestro Eugene Skullovitch?"

_Landsdown Estate_

The Landsdown's party was the next day and fortunately the weather had cleared up. The Landsdown's garden was filled with some of the richest people in the country and unfortunately for Shelby, their stuck up and self centered children. Dressed in a knee length pink dress, she fiddled with her hair that had been tied up in a tight bun, "Why did Mom have to use so much hair spray, I can't top itching".

"Remind me how I ended up as your date for this party", Riley grumbled. He looked uncomfortable dressed in a black suit jacket, trousers and a green shirt, "At least I didn't have to wear a tie", he added.

"Quit your complaining", Shelby replied, "do you know how many men would love to have me as their date to this party".

"Now who sounds self centered", Riley smiled.

Shelby rolled her eyes, "Look it was a simple choice, Ivan still doesn't know much about this century, Koda's too old to be my date, Tyler is too excitable for this crowd and Chase is...well Chase". Riley laughed at her explanation but their conversation was cut short by the appearance of three people.

"Shelby darling", Marie Landsdown said and kissed the pink ranger on both cheeks, "so glad you could make it". Shelby forced a smile onto her face, Marie Landsdown must be approaching fifty but barely looked a day over thirty. The tight skin on her face suggested that she was getting a bit of surgical help. Her husband on the other hand was aging gracefully, his once brown hair was now mostly grey. Shelby would have called him handsome, if it wasn't for the permanent look of superiority that adorned his face, "I'm sure you remember our daughter Summer", Marie continued.

The pink ranger looked over at the birthday girl, as usual she was dressed to the nines in a sparkly yellow cocktail dress. She was expecting a boisterous greeting from the young woman but instead, Summer almost looked embarrassed to be there, "Hey Shelby", she mumbled. Shelby raised an eyebrow, something wasn't right but then again she had been fooled into think Summer was a nice person before. She wasn't going to let that happen again.

"We'll leave you two to catch up", Gerald Landsdown said and lead his wife away to continue mingling.

The trio stood awkwardly before Shelby asked Riley to fetch them some drinks, leaving her and Summer alone. "Your date seems nice", Summer began, "a little young though".

"He not really a date", Shelby replied, "he's a friend who's currently a student at the Valley, I thought he could raise his profile by attending this party".

Summer nodded before another awkward silence descended, "Look Shelby can we talk somewhere privately", Summer asked

"Perhaps another time Summer, I really need to find Riley", he quickly hurried away, leaving a disappointed Summer standing by herself.

Up at the house, the other rangers plus Jason and Kiera were unloading a couple of crates from Koda's van. "Alright that's the last one", Chase said as he shut the door.

"This should enable us to analyse the energy reading", Kiera added as she pulled out four hand held devices. She handed one each to Tyler, Chase, Koda and Ivan.

"How does this thing work", Ivan asked, shaking the device.

"Don't shake it", Kiera snapped, "I'll show you on the way".

"Guys be careful out there", Jason called out, "and watch out for Kiera won't you".

"You can count on us old man", Tyler gave a small salute and the group walked towards the hills that sat in the middle of the Landsdown's estate.

"Hard to believe that Billy's kid is nearly an adult", someone called out from behind Jason. He turned around and saw a tall, skinny man around his age. He had spiky black hair and was dressed in a classic black tuxedo.

"Hard to believe that Eugene Skullovitch is a world renowned pianist", Jason smiled and embraced the man, "Good to see you again Skull", he smiled. When his best friend Bulk left on-board Terra Venture, Skull decided to put his piano talents to good use. Over the last fifteen years, he had built up a reputation as one of the finest concert pianists in the world. His success had made him a millionaire almost overnight.

"You too Jason", Skull replied, "I was surprised to get your call but I'm happy to help out the Power Rangers any way I can". After the Space Rangers had revealed their identities in 1998, it didn't take Bulk and Skull long to figure out who the other rangers had been. Since then the pair had been loyal allies to the rangers.

"How are Bulk and Spike doing", Jason asked.

"Bulk's doing really well again", Skull replied, "he's opened a new restaurant in Panorama City. I think he's finally getting back on his feet".

"Yeah it was a shame that Bulkmeier's had to close", Jason sighed. Bulk had opened a hotel after returning to Earth. It was extremely successful but unfortunately he had to sell up during the economic downturn a few years ago.

"Yeah I did like that place", Skull sighed, "but Spike's working hard as a chef at the new place, I couldn't be prouder".

"Still not trying to be samurai's then?" Jason laughed.

Skull smiled and shook his head, "Thankfully no. Thanks for introducing us to Jayden and his team, Spike still can't stop talking about it". There was a pause before Skull continued, "So what's going on here?"

"We're not sure", Jason replied, "we've picked up some strange energy readings. Could be one of our missing zords or possibly something to do with the Legion of Deboss, we won't know until Kiera analyses the data".

"Well if you need any more help let me know", Skull stated.

"Thanks Skull", Jason smiled, "how about I help you set up your piano, it's the least I can do?" The two men walked back up the driveway and towards a waiting van.

Inside the Landsdown's home, Shelby shut the back door and leaned up against it. Every where she turned, Summer seemed to be right there in front of her. Initially she tried to distract her by using Riley as a shield but the girl was relentless. Deciding that hiding would be her best option, she retreated to the house. Walking quietly through the hallways, she wondered why Summer was so interested in talking with her. Usually by now, Summer would've said something insulting about her hair or her outfit but not so far today.

Over the years she had grown to hate Summer and everything she symbolised. They both had similar backgrounds, heiresses to a family fortune with more money, staff and property then she cared to count. Soon after meeting Summer, she had resolved to be the total opposite to that girl. It was one of her motivating factors when she took up martial arts, she knew that it was something Summer would never do.

With that in mind, it came as a surprise to Shelby when she walked past a slightly open door. Peering inside, she noticed that it was a small gym with several martial arts training dummies. Stepping inside she marvelled at the equipment on display, surely none of this could belong to the Landsdown's. "Can I help you Miss?" a male voice called out from behind Shelby. The pink ranger turned around and saw the Landsdown's family butler.

"I just needed a break from the party", she replied, "it's Andrews isn't it?" she asked the butler.

"Indeed Miss Watkins", Andrews replied, "you really should hear what Miss Summer has to say, she's a different person to who she was the last time you met".

Shelby snorted, "I'd like to believe you Andrews".

"Perhaps I should tell you myself", Summer stated, stepping out of from behind Andrews. "Please Shelby can I just have five minutes".

The pink ranger sighed, Summer had never used the word 'please' before, "Fine, the clock's running".

Summer nodded and dismissed Andrews and stepped into the gym. Standing opposite the pink ranger she tried to make eye contact but Shelby wasn't allowing it. "I'm sorry that's I've been a bitch to you for all these years".

"Sorry, that's all you have to say", Shelby roared.

"Well you haven't let me finish", Summer began but the pink ranger interrupted her.

"When we first met, you poured lemonade down my dress, I was twelve years old at the time", Summer looked to the floor, "the next time our paths crossed, you locked me in the basement of this very mansion. I also recall a conversation in which you told me that my sort", she used air quotations, "shouldn't be allowed at your parties".

"I didn't mean that in a racist way", Summer defended, "I'm might've been an asshole but I'm not a racist".

"So how did you mean it then", Shelby asked.

"I just meant that a nouveau rich family aren't the same as old money families like us", Summer replied.

"Yeah cause that makes it better", Shelby turned and walked away.

"My five minutes aren't up", Summer called out.

"Well I'm done listening princess", Shelby cried, "I don't even know why I came here". Suddenly the foundations of the house shook and there was a bright flash of light from the hills on the estate, "Oh yeah that", the pink ranger whispered to herself.

There were several flashes of light in the room and the two women found themselves surrounded by Vivix. Backed up towards Summer, the pink ranger hoped that this martial arts gear wasn't just for show. Otherwise she was defending Summer Landsdown without the ability to use her Dinovolver. Either way, Shelby Watkins was about to have a very challenging few minutes.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

_**A/N – **__So who predicted that we would see Skull and this universe's version of Summer Landsdown?_


	19. Know Your Enemy

_Chapter 19 – Know Your Enemy_

_**Previously - **__"My five minutes aren't up", Summer called out._

"_Well I'm done listening princess", Shelby cried, "I don't even know why I came here". Suddenly the foundations of the house shook and there was a bright flash of light from the hills on the estate, "Oh yeah that", the pink ranger whispered to herself. _

_There were several flashes of light in the room and the two women found themselves surrounded by Vivix. Backed up towards Summer, the pink ranger hoped that this martial arts gear wasn't just for show. Otherwise she was defending Summer Landsdown without the ability to use her Dinovolver. Either way, Shelby Watkins was about to have a very challenging few minutes. _

Ducking under an attempted punch from a Vivix, Shelby drove her knee into the gut of the creature and pushed it away. Kicking off her high heels she was beginning to regret her decision to wear a dress today. Turning her head slightly, she saw the sun reflecting off something shiny in the corner of the room. Grabbing Summer by the arm, she dragged them over to a sword hanging on the far wall. She pulled it out of its sheath and turned towards Summer, "Woah Shelby, I know we've never gotten on but this is a little extreme".

Smiling sweetly the pink ranger pulled Summer towards her. The older woman flinched when Shelby moved the blade towards her but much to her relief, she was just cutting her dress to a more appropriate fighting length. After doing the same to her own outfit, Shelby drove the blade into the nearest Vivix. The creature was immobilised but unfortunately the handle snapped off from blade, "Cheap piece of rubbish", the pink ranger grumbled.

"That cost $300", Summer cried.

"Then you were ripped off", Shelby replied smugly. She landed a straight kick to the jaw of another Vivix and grabbed hold of Summer again. To her surprise the Landsdown heiress shook her off and hit another one of the white suited creatures with a roundhouse kick. For the first time in her life, Shelby was impressed with something that Summer Landsdown had done. Confident that the blonde could look after herself, she was free to clear a path out of the gym. Backflipping away from a couple of Vivix, she grabbed a couple of small dumbbells from a nearby rack. With one in each hand, she smashed them into the temples of the footsoldiers. Next to her Summer had kicked away another creature, leaving them a clear route to the door.

"Quickly, this way", Summer called and ran out of the gym with Shelby close behind. The pink ranger had a quick look out the window and saw that more Vivix were in the garden but Riley and Jason were keeping them at bay. "Down here", Summer said when they reached a door.

"The basement, really", Shelby raised an eyebrow.

"It'll give us time to recover", the Landsdown heiress replied. With no other options Shelby sighed and quickly ran down the steps. She turned on a light and found that it was much different than she remembered. Gone were the old cardboard boxes and the smell of damp. In their place was a larger version of the gym that they had just escaped from. In the corner of the room was an old motorcycle with several spare parts sitting on some old newspapers.

"What is this place?" Shelby asked.

"My personal sanctuary", Summer replied, "a place where I can truly be myself". She walked over to a book case and pulled something out from between a couple of books.

"What's going on Summer", Shelby asked, "you've changed since the last time I met you. The Summer Landsdown I know wouldn't have helped me fight off monsters and she wouldn't have a battered old motorbike in her basement".

"Can I tell you a secret", Summer began, in her hand were a couple of pictures, "I met someone a year ago that changed my outlook on life". She handed Shelby one of the pictures in her hand and the pink ranger's jaw dropped. There were two Summer's in the picture, one was the sleek haired, made up woman she knew. The other looked exactly the same except her hair was a little darker and her eyes looked battle weary. The real shock was that this other Summer was dressed from the neck down in a yellow power suit, the design of which Shelby hadn't seen before.

"Is this some kind of trick", Shelby began cautiously, "some kind of photo shopped image".

Summer shook her head, "Nope they're really are two of me", he sighed. "Do you believe in alternate universes?"

"Thought it was all science fiction nonsense", Shelby shrugged. Then again fighting against creatures from the time of the dinosaurs was equally as crazy she thought.

"So did I until a couple of days after that massive alien invasion last year", Summer replied. "The other me comes from a world where most of humanity was destroyed by a computer virus. She is the yellow ranger for the RPM Rangers". Summer paused for a moment, "Apparently her mentor warned against tracking down the alternate version of themselves".

"But that Summer didn't listen", Shelby smiled, "sounds like you're very alike".

"We were, it was kinda spooky", Summer replied, "but she showed me that I could be more than a spoiled rich kid. Since that day I've started living for myself a bit more, doing things that interested me", she pointed over to the bike.

"I've heard of giving yourself a talking to but I don't think anyone's ever literally done it", Shelby laughed, "what's the other picture?"

Summer handed the picture over, it was another picture of the woman with a powerfully built Caucasian man. He was almost a foot taller than Summer and he had shaggy black hair, "He was my Dad's mechanic", Summer began, "I used to look down on him but once I got to know him, I found that I really liked him. We've been dating for six months now", she sighed, "shame my parents don't know".

The pink ranger handed the picture back, "We really do make a right pair don't we, what's the guy's name?"

"Well officially it's Steve", Summer began, "but he prefers to go by his surname of Dillon. I've been using some of my monthly allowance to help him care for his blind sister".

"Summer I think I owe you an apology", Shelby said, "I shouldn't have blown up at you like that".

"I think I deserved it", Summer sighed, "we could start again", she extended her hand which Shelby shook. The pink ranger was seeing a kindred spirit in Summer for the first time.

Suddenly Shelby's ears pricked up, "We need to get out of here", she could hear something banging on the door, the Vivix had found them. She shook her head, there was only one solution, "You've trusted me with your secret Summer, now I'm going to show you mine", She reached into her purse and pulled out her communicator, "Guys what's going on out there".

"Little busy right now Shel", she heard Tyler's voice call out, "we're coming your way".

"Alright I'll meet you round the side of the house", reaching into her bag again, she pulled out her Dinovolver, much to the surprise of Summer.

"That's one of the weapons that the Power Rangers use", she spluttered.

Shelby nodded, "Dino Charge Pink Ranger at your service", she smiled. Looking around the room, she saw a small window that was letting in some light into the basement. It was too small for the women to fit through normally, so she had to get creative. "Alright I'm going to try something but you need to trust me".

Summer nodded so Shelby led them to the small window. She placed Energem number 19 into her Dinovolver and turned the weapon towards her and Summer. Before the blonde could protest, the pink ranger fired the weapon. Instantly their bodies were flattened to the thickness of a piece of paper. Propelling themselves upwards they were able to fit through the gap and back up into the garden. The effects of the gem wore off and both women were returned their normal size, "Ok that was weird", Summer coughed.

"Yeah really don't want to do that again", Shelby replied. To her surprise Summer threw her arms around her neck and gave her a tight hug. Initially stunned, Shelby returned the hug, gently tapping her Dinovolver on her back.

"Did we miss something", she heard Tyler called out. Releasing Summer she looked over the group that had gone into the hills. They were soaking wet and covered in mud, Chase and Ivan even had a few scorch marks on their clothes.

"I could ask you the same question", Shelby asked, "I take it your little mission didn't go very well".

"Erm should we be talking about this with her here?" Koda asked.

"It's alright, Shelby told me she's the pink ranger", Summer replied, "so I take it this is the rest of your team", she asked the pink ranger.

Shelby nodded, "Most of it", she pointed to each person in turn, "that's Koda the blue ranger, Ivan the gold ranger, Chase the black ranger, Tyler the red ranger and finally that's Kiera our first lady of science".

"Where's Riley?" Kiera stated, looking around.

"Oh crap I forgot about him", Shelby exclaimed, "he's the green ranger", she added to Summer. "We probably should go help him", she started to prepare her Dinovolver.

"We'll go", Chase stated, "it'll look less suspicious". Shelby nodded and placed her Dinovolver back in her purse.

Alright let's do this", Tyler stated, "Dino Spirts, Dino Charge".

"Ptera Brace, Dino Charge".

In a flash of light the four rangers morphed, leaving Summer, Shelby and Kiera behind. "So what happened in the hills, why are you so muddy", Summer asked.

Kiera sighed, "We found a weird energy reading in the hills on your estate. Just as we were arriving, there was a massive explosion from below ground. Whatever was under the surface is gone now".

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Shelby asked.

"I don't know", Kiera replied, the young scientist excused herself and returned to Koda's van in the driveway. Summer and Shelby returned to the garden where the four morphed rangers were finishing off the last of the Vivix. Running over to an exhausted looking Riley, she knelt down to check that he was alright. The green ranger nodded, only having a few minor cuts and bruises to show for his workout.

With the last of the Vivix gone, the rangers took the thanks of the party goers before taking their leave. Shelby looked around, the garden was a shambles but no one appeared to be severely injured. "Shelby, what the hell happened to you", the pink ranger sighed, her Dad had arrived.

"I got caught up inside when those things showed up", she replied, "Summer and I managed to fight them off and escape".

"My Summer fighting", Marie snorted, "I refuse to believe that". She then turned to Tyrelle Watkins, "This is all your daughters fault".

"I can assure you that my Shelby had nothing to do with this", Tyrelle roared. The argument between the pair continued for a few more minutes with their daughters watching on. They had begun to draw a crowd, including Jason and Skull. After several nasty comments from both sides, the two women had enough.

"Shut it", they both shouted at the same time.

"Dad I love you but I can't do this anymore", Shelby began, "I'm not some trophy daughter that you can wheel out at these fancy party's. I like sports, I like martial arts and I even like my job at the diner". There were several outraged cries from the gathered audience that the daughter of a multi-millionaire would work in a diner.

"No daughter of mine will work in a diner", Tyrelle shouted, "this is not what I wanted from you".

"Yeah but it's what I want, aren't you even a little bothered that I could have been seriously hurt?" Shelby asked.

"Of course I am", Tyrelle snapped, "but did you have to lower yourself to brawling with them".

"I guess that's where you and I are different Dad", Shelby replied sadly. She took off her expensive diamond necklace and threw it onto the grass.

"I'm with Shelby", it was Summer's turn to speak up, "Mom, Dad I'm in love with Steven Dillon".

"That's greasy mechanic", Gerald Landsdown roared.

"That's right, I've even been giving him my allowance to help out his disabled sister", she added.

"That's ridiculous, a Landsdown has never helped anyone before", Marie stated.

"Well that's going to change", Summer removed her bracelet and dumped it on top of Shelby's necklace. The two women looked at their parents one last time before walking away.

"Don't walk away from me Shelby", Tyrelle cried, "if you do I'll cut off your allowance and accounts". Shelby didn't pause for a second as she walked away from the party and her old way of life for good.

_Watkins Estate_

A few days later Koda, Summer and Tyler were helping Shelby pack up the last of her belongings into the blue rangers van. The two women had temporarily stayed at the Dino Mansion, giving Shelby a chance to get to know the new Summer Landsdown. After a couple of days of living in a house mostly filled with men, Summer decided that she needed her own space. She had rented a place a couple of blocks away from the Dino Mansion.

Much to her surprise, Jason had helped her out with their initial deposit and reference, stating that he always helps out a ranger in difficulty. Summer protested that she wasn't really a ranger but Jason wasn't letting the small matter of the multiverse dissuade him from helping out. Having another civilian on covering for the rangers could prove useful in the long run he added.

The pink ranger though would make the Dino Mansion her home and the others were helping her move her belongings. Shelby was taking one last look at her family home when Tyler placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright", he asked.

"Yeah, I just can't believe it's come to this", she replied. The pair noticed her Dad walking out of the front door and looking at the van and the occupants with distain.

"Last chance Shelby", Tyrelle called out.

She shook her head, "No Dad, it's your last chance". Tyrelle was unmoved and after a few moments, retreated back into the house. The pink ranger's emotional wall crumbled and she burst into tears, leaning into Tyler. The red ranger placed his arm around her until he was able to regain her composure. She wiped her eyes and thanked the red ranger, following him into the van.

Koda gave the two women a smile and fired up the van, Summer and Shelby sat in the front whilst Tyler huddled in the back with the cardboard boxes, "Alright Shel, next stop the Dino Mansion" the blue ranger called out.

"I don't know how you can stay in that man cave", Summer smiled.

"We're not that bad", Tyler tried to defend himself, Chase, Ivan and Jason.

"At least I'm there now to help keep you in line", Shelby smiled, putting her brave face back on.

"God help you boys", Summer laughed. Suddenly something got her attention in the bushes at the side of the road. She was sure that she had seen the RPM Yellow Ranger hiding in the undergrowth. She leaned over and checked the mirror but if there was someone there, they had gone.

"Summer are you alright?" Koda asked.

"Yeah, I must be seeing things", she replied. The conversation turned back to how to decorate the new home and Summer soon forget out what she had seen.

Summer though hadn't been mistaken, she had seen the RPM Yellow Ranger hiding in the undergrowth. The ranger walked the bushes and demorphed, revealing a young woman with long blonde hair, black jeans, black leather jacket and a yellow top, however, this wasn't Summer's counterpart from the other universe.

"Gia did you have to do that", a lanky teen with olive coloured skin, blue jeans and a black hooded top called out.

"Relax Jake, she didn't see me", Gia Moran replied, "I just thought it would be an appropriate disguise to use whilst spying on Summer Landsdown".

"Gosei will be annoyed", Jake Holling sighed.

"Not nearly as annoyed as he was when you accidently kicked your soccer ball into his face", Gia laughed.

Jake chuckled as well, "Yeah he was pretty pissed", he shook his head, "so did you find out anything?"

"Nothing of importance", Gia replied, "whatever caused that explosion at the Landsdown place wasn't related to the RPM Rangers. Based on Tensou's calculations that just leaves one possibility".

"I was afraid you were going to say that", Jake sighed, "we'd better report back". Grabbing hold of Gia's hand, the pair teleported away in a flash of black and yellow light.

_**A/N **__– Is that a team up I spy approaching in the distance? Quick note on Summer she might pop up again in passing but I consider her role in this story now complete so she won't be getting one of the missing Energems. _


End file.
